


call me on the phone at three (i'll talk to you while half asleep)

by anotherenby



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: (nasties), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst and Humor, Caring Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Dadza, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Found Family, Gen, Happy TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mental Health Issues, No Romance, No Smut, Nonbinary Toby Smith | Tubbo, Panic Attacks, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Platonic Soulmates, Sad Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Sad Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Sleepyboisinc - Freeform, Suicidal Wilbur Soot, They/Them Pronouns for Toby Smith | Tubbo, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit Friendship, TommyInnit Swears (Video Blogging RPF), Twins Wilbur Soot & Technoblade, Underage Drinking, Underage Drug Use, Underage Smoking, Wilbur Soot Angst, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade are Siblings, Wilbur Soot is Not Okay, Worried Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), everythings platonic i swear, except for tommy, i miss wilbur's and schlatts old videos together, idk how, im sorry like everyone in this fic is mentally ill, sbi, tommy says a bad word
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:14:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27730111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anotherenby/pseuds/anotherenby
Summary: Phil never thought he would be a dad so young.But his soulmates have too many issues so he'll do what he has to do.
Relationships: Dave | Technoblade & Wilbur Soot, Dave | Technoblade & Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, EVERYTHINGS PLATONIC - Relationship, Jschlatt & Wilbur Soot, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Comments: 168
Kudos: 1358
Collections: MCYT Fic Rec





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> tw; mentions of alcoholism, suicide attempt, and small descriptions of blood/injuries  
> its not that bad i promise djksf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also big thank u to [nether](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gargalesthesiaaa/) and [ali](https://archiveofourown.org/users/b1rds0ng) for beta'ing and overall just helping with the plot. also thank u [kry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hskie/) for inspiring me to keep writing and plot help as well !! :]

When Phil was seven he got his first soulmark. It was around three in the morning when he woke with a start, confused and in pain. For a split second, he could not remember why he had awoken at such a time before he felt his right wrist erupt in a flame of agonizing pain. And just as quick as the heat had come, it was over.

Phil had been one of the last few of his year to get his soulmark. He had been terrified for the longest time that he would end up as one of the unlucky few who was born without a soulmate. Now, as he clutched his wrist, pressing hard enough on the throbbing to make it as numb as possible, somewhere deep inside of him wished to be soulmate-less to not have to feel this pain again.

When Phil’s dad had entered his room, panic-stricken from hearing his son cry out so suddenly in the night, he found Phil huddled in the corner of his bed, his eyes wet and puffy, and back and shoulders slouched as he stared at his throbbing wrist with a scrutinizing gaze.

Phil was not completely foolish. He knew what a soulmate was and he knew that almost everyone had one, but no one had warned him about how fucking painful the feeling was. But once the pain had subdued, at least enough for him to blink away tears, he stared wide-eyed at not one, but two perfectly symmetrical white rings that now laid in a neat row upon his right wrist.

That night, Phil’s dad sat with the boy, rubbing soft circles on his sore wrist and explained more in detail about Phil’s soulmates. The young boy learned that night that having more than one soulmate was actually not at all uncommon, and the white color that his rings had meant that his soulmates were platonic. Phil’s dad also explained how the two rings most likely meant that his soulmates were twins (or just two people born at the exact same time but Phil liked to think of the twin idea as more unique).

Phil’s dad had also explained that not every soulmate will work out, and that was perfectly okay. However Phil knew that once he met his soulmates they would become best friends.

His dad sat with him long after he had fallen asleep, even sitting with him once the sun had risen, and spent the entire time rubbing his thumb against his son’s wrist.

Two years later, Phil was once again awoken at an ungodly time in the morning, the same excruciating pain stabbing at his wrist. He was confused and in pain once again, this time biting his lip to keep from weeping out loud. He wiped his eyes with his good hand and stared at shock at his wrist.

That dark morning, Phil’s third and final soulmate had been born.

The only difference was this time, Phil’s dad would not come to rub his aching wrist and whisper to him until he was pulled back into the lull of sleep. Phil also knew that his mother would not be doing the same, as she was most likely passed out on the couch, clutching a half-drunk bottle of liquor in her hand.

That night, Phil sobbed into his hand, making sure that he was as quiet as possible and also making sure that his mother had not woken up from his noise. His good thumb rubbed at the spot where a new, white, and shiny ring had just appeared.

His dad had passed in a fatal car accident not too many months previously. He was pronounced dead on scene. Ever since, Phil’s mum had wilted down to the shell of her former self, becoming nothing more than a hollow form of hypocrisy and lies.

After his dad’s passing, Phil would spend the later part of his childhood pretending like he could not hear the nasty words that his mum used to describe him, whether she said it under her breath just loud enough for him to hear or in a shout that would spew from a fierce, one-sided argument.

Phil spent his free time in the local library or at the park a few blocks from his school. Phil would bring home excellent marks and as positive of an attitude that he could muster and would be met with paranoia and many undiagnosed mental illnesses.

But he would always make excuses for his mum, simply because she was his mum and he would always love her no matter the amount of pain she had caused him.

_But she brought home ice cream yesterday._

_She picked me up after school and got me coffee as a congratulations for acing my chemistry test._

_She made my favorite food for dinner tonight._

Phil tended to make as many excuses for his mum, usually telling himself that he was overreacting and that others had it much worse. He was lucky, he was lucky because he had a mum who at least loved him. Or at least that’s what he told himself.

Phil would be lying if he said that his mental health was not slowly being chipped and eaten away at. He tried his best to hold his composure but it was not an uncommon sight to see him silently weeping as he cradled himself to sleep, all the while telling himself he was overdramatic and did not deserve a mum who was so giving.

Phil loved his mum with every atom in his being, but it still hurt when his mum would stare at him, with her unwavering glare that seemed to see straight into his soul and knew exactly what he was thinking about at that moment. He felt ashamed and like he was betraying his mother during those times. It hurt even more when she would raise her voice at him. It made him feel useless and like a burden. But what hurt Phil the absolute most were the fleeting moments when it would be just him and his mum, both laughing and smiling like nothing was wrong at all. Those few hours were unstable and unpredictable, usually ending with his mother getting drunk out of her mind, or maybe a nice, new red mark on his chin because he was being too disrespectful. Phil tended to forget most other things his mother did, only remembering those few hours when his mother would smile at him and shower him in compliments.

When Phil was sixteen, nearly seven years since he had gotten his last soulmark, he moved out. He made a promise to himself when he did that his soulmates would know nothing but kindness. He also promised that he would never, ever intentionally cause his soulmates any harm.

Wilbur should have considered himself lucky, having been born with two soulmates on his right wrist and one of them being his best friend and twin brother, Techno. Some with siblings may not think that was optimal, but to Wilbur it was probably the best case scenario. No matter what, Techno would always be there for him.

When the twins were just toddlers, they had both awakened at the same moment at around way-too-early in the morning, screaming their lungs out. Their sleep-deprived mother tried her best to calm the pair down, nearly missing the new white ring that laid underneath the two already existing soulmarks. That day, Wil’s and Techno’s last soulmate was born.

When one finds their soulmate, usually when they touch for the first time, the ring becomes completely filled in and everytime the two soulmates touch, they are both greeted with a warm, fuzzy feeling that reminds both of being enveloped in a large, warm blanket.

So Wilbur grew up very lucky, having been one of the few outliers to have already met one of his soulmates.

To many who did not know the twins, they would never understand why Wilbur and Techno were even soulmates. Wil was a scrawny kid who spent his time dozing off or singing in class. He was a social butterfly and had a highly contagious laugh. He had a smile that could easily win the affection and attention that he wanted. When Wilbur was eleven, his mum had enrolled him into a guitar class and by his and Techno’s twelfth birthday, he was gifted his very own guitar. Ever since, much to his teachers’ dismay, he spent most of his free time and time in class working on chords and lyrics that would be something new.

On the other hand, Techno was seen as the silent, ‘jock’ type. He spent most of his time by himself and towered above many other kids his age. He was seen as cool and collected, but had a temper that could explode very easily. He was a varsity baseball player, but that did not necessarily mean he was popular. Techno was very isolated for his age, to the point where his mum had received many letters and emails from his school and teacher explaining how they were concerned for his social development. He spent most of his free periods indoors with his teachers (and it had nothing to do with him punching a boy in the nose after he called Wilbur a not-so-nice slur).

But Wilbur and Techno fit together perfectly, even if not too many others were aware. Wilbur helped Techno come out of his shell and Techno helped Wil keep his mouth shut in situations best left quiet. When Wilbur was down, Techno was one of the few people who knew exactly how to cheer him up, even with his monotone voice and dry, sarcastic humor. When Techno was seething, Wil knew how to bring him back down. And seeing that their mother was almost always working, it was not uncommon to see Wilbur strumming absentmindedly at his guitar, plucking at random chords on his bed, while Techno sat on the carpet doing his homework in their shared bedroom together in their cramped townhouse they called home. Although they were not the wealthiest family in the UK, Wilbur liked to believe that their family was the happiest.

This did not last too long though. When Wilbur was thirteen, he was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, general anxiety disorder, and bulimia after his school counselor called his home in concern. His mum cried in her bedroom for days and Techno remained even more glossy-eyed and spaced out than usual.

Not too long after his diagnosis, a new boy moved to town, who went by the name Jschlatt. Schlatt and Wilbur became close friends almost instantly and were soon inseparable. Wilbur and Schlatt clashed and stuck together in a way that only others could wish they had. Schlatt had a loud, slightly abrasive sense of humor while Wil had a bright, enthusiastic laugh.

Rumors spread through school fast saying that Schlatt was one of Wilbur’s other three soulmates, but every time someone got a glimpse at Wil’s wrist it was still the same two rings and white circle that had been there since birth.

Besides, Schlatt had made everyone aware, not even a month into the school year, that he was one of the “lucky” few born without a soulmate. Many pitied him for it (much to Schlatt’s annoyance) and a small handful liked to make fun of him for it. But as Schlatt liked to tell Wilbur (very often): he really did not give a fuck.

Wilbur knew that somewhere deep down that Schlatt did care. He knew by the way he would see Schlatt stare at his wrist for a little too long, or by the way he would avoid Techno despite him being his best friend’s brother, or in the way he would not-so-subtly change the subject if Wil ever brought up his other two soulmates. Wil knew it was not physically possible to not care when your best friend had three soulmates and you have none.

A few months after Schlatt and Wil became close friends, Schlatt woke up to a dazed Wilbur climbing through his bedroom window. Now Wilbur climbing through his window was not uncommon, as he often snuck out to Schlatt’s house at late hours of the night. But during those times Wil would be smiling wildly with an absurd amount of snacks from the 24/7 liquor store down the street and a binder full of homework in his backpack. And more importantly he usually told Schlatt ahead of time when he was coming over. This time Wil was empty handed and was rather awkward and clunky. So when Wilbur fell flat on his face, Schlatt was more than concerned.

Schlatt had jumped out of his bed, flicking on his desk lamp, and rolled Wilbur onto his back.

A modest amount of blood oozed from his nose, no doubt caused by his fall, and a small, dark stain laid on the brim of his shirt. His mouth was slightly hung open and Schlatt saw a bit of drool dribbling down his chin. His face was flushed and he was humming ever so slightly. When Schlatt met his eyes, he shivered at his extremely dilated pupils and the way his eyes seemed completely lost and glossed over. What worried Schlatt the most were how puffy and red his eyes were, and the way he snivelled every couple of seconds, and the way Schlatt could tell Wil had tried to hide the fact he was crying. How the _hell_ did he even walk all the way from his fucking house in this state.

Wilbur raised his hand, reaching lazily for his sweater, which snapped Schlatt out of his trance.

Luckily Wil had brought his phone and Schlatt unlocked it (he added his thumb print as a joke and he never took it off fortunately), dialing Techno. He picked up after the first ring. Once off the phone, Schlatt sat with Wilbur as he waited for his brother to arrive and made sure that Wil did not fall asleep. For once, Schlatt was happy his parents were never home.

The rest of the evening was a blur. When Techno had arrived he carried him into the bathroom and made him throw up the rest of the contents of his stomach (Schlatt later found out they were sleeping pills). He cleaned him up and changed him into one of Schlatt’s old t-shirts. Once he was slightly more sane and not completely drugged out of his mind, they let him lay down on Schlatt’s bed. A tired Schlatt and even more tired Techno had slumped onto the carpet next to his bed, making sure the teen slept peacefully.

During that unexpected all-nighter, probably around two or three (Schlatt could not remember nor did he care), Techno confessed and told Schlatt about Wil’s diagnosis’ and other problems. His reasoning being that Schlatt had just helped Wil out of a drug-induced state so the least Wil could offer was the truth (Wilbur later agreed with this). And although Schlatt was not the type to get “all sentimental and shit,” he had to admit that he was a bit disappointed that Wilbur had not told him earlier. Techno had comforted him by saying Wil was embarrassed by it himself and that he had planned to eventually, until his recent breakdown had unwillingly dragged Schlatt into the mix. The two teenagers spent the rest of the night in comfortable silence, pinching the other if they saw them nod off as both wanted to make sure that Wilbur made it through the night okay.

No one at their school was entirely sure what happened between Techno and Schlatt, and how one day they went from completely ignoring each other to being close friends practically overnight, but from that day forward Techno, Wilbur, and Schlatt were practically intertwined.

Techno blamed himself. It was incredibly unhealthy, and deep down he knew that, but he still blamed himself. He was the protector, he was there for his brother whenever he needed, even if Wilbur was technically older by four minutes. So when Techno woke up that night and realized that his brother was gone, he panicked. Usually Wil would at least tell him if he were leaving and Techno very easily jumped to the worse case scenario. When he got a call from Wilbur’s phone but with Schlatt’s voice, he went numb.

Once it was the next morning and Schlatt had fallen asleep, his knees pulled to his chest, head tilted, and mouth slightly agape, Techno had started shaking. He had not realized, not until he tasted the burning, salty tears and felt them roll down his cheeks and onto the carpet beneath him, that he was crying.

Techno was not supposed to cry, he did not cry. He was supposed to be the comforter, not the one needing comforting. It had always been that way; like when his mum had to pick up an extra shift and he would spend most of the night taking care of the house or when Wilbur was having a particularly bad day.

In a way, Techno felt like he let down his brother. Wilbur was supposed to come to him first, he should have come to him first. Somewhere in Wilbur’s doped mind, he had decided he trusted Schlatt more to deal with his breakdown slash half-assed attempt than his own brother, even after all the years of Techno taking care of him. So Techno sat there, shaking and weeping like a child, until he could no longer cry any longer.

When Techno was younger, he had decided that his birth name no longer suited him. He does not remember exactly where he heard the name Technoblade but he basically went, _cool_ , and stole it as his own. Ever since, Wil had never uttered his birth name, even when his mother had smiled and doubted him in the beginning.

His brother had also been the one to help him bleach his hair for the first time. His mother had been horrified when she had come home and the two were grounded for months but Techno adored his new pink hair and soon became his signature look.

Techno knew from a young age that he was there to protect Wilbur. Wil was a small, thin kid and enjoyed hobbies like singing and playing an instrument, and although he was popular for his outspoken nature, he was still an easy target for some sour-mouthed kids.

The first time Techno had ever hit someone he gave them a particularly nasty bloody nose and was sent to the principal’s office. He remembers calmly recounting how he had done it to protect his brother. Miraculously, the worst he had gotten away with was in-school detention for a month (although that would stretch later on). Techno knew that his soulmate was sensitive in a way, more sensitive than Techno was himself, and he vowed that he would always protect him no matter what.

When Wilbur was diagnosed, Techno remembered locking himself in their narrow bathroom and sat there fuming for over an hour. Mental illness was not something he could punch or yell at or scare away. For once in his life, Techno was useless in protecting his brother from an invisible enemy.

Techno picked up on some habits, though, as he and his mother dealt with his brother’s illnesses. He learned that although Wilbur enjoyed a nice cup of tea rather often, the best thing to calm him down was a cup of hot chocolate with extra whipped cream. Whenever Wilbur would find himself in the middle of a panic attack, Techno would place a hand on his chest and remind him to breathe, sometimes taking his brother’s hand to his own chest so he could easily replicate his steady breathing patterns. He made sure that Wilbur always ate enough and made sure he was safe for the night before he went to bed. He gave Wil space when he needed and acted as clingy as Wil could handle.

If Wilbur was going to be stuck with Techno as his only soulmate, for the moment at least, then he was going to make damn well sure he was going to be the best possible soulmate possible.

So when Schlatt had moved in, Techno could not help but feel a little bit defeated. For the second time in his life, after Wil’s diagnosis, Techno felt his role as Wilbur’s protector slip in importance. He felt utterly useless, again.

It did not help that Schlatt absolutely sucked up all of Wil’s attention. It was not his fault (Techno told himself this often), Wil did not see Schlatt all the time at home, at school, and at practice. And Wil never had a best friend that was not Techno, even if he was popular and had many acquaintances. The days where Techno would spend doing his homework with his brother strumming as background music were long gone. He went home alone more often than he liked to admit.

But even Techno had to admit that he was jealous of their friendship. He had never had a friend for the sake of being friends. He was overprotective and slightly possessive of Wilbur and tried his best to be the perfect soulmate because he knew they would be stuck together (don’t get him wrong, Techno absolutely loves his brother to death). But Techno had never had a friendship like Schlatt and Wil’s and god did he wish that he did.

But Techno held it together for as long as possible (he was the perfect soulmate after all). He would come home after school, or go to practice depending on the day, do his homework, do his chores, then do Wilbur’s chores, make dinner, greet his tired mum home from work (who would usually be too preoccupied to notice Wil was not home or if she asked Techno would simply say the library), and then help Wil sneak back into the house. He kept up that routine for a handful of months.

He snapped while he sat on the floor of Schlatt’s carpeted bedroom, however. The gentle snores of Schlatt and the tell-tale sign of life of Wilbur’s slightly unsteady breath exhaling on Techno’s messy pink hair was the only thing keeping him stable. He hiccuped into the sleeve of his jacket, which was already slightly stiff from him wiping his tears, and snot, onto it.

Techno could not help but mull over the fact that his twin had attempted to take his life that night, and the person he went to for help was Schlatt, who lived blocks away, not his own brother who had fallen asleep in the bed right next to him. Techno thought of himself as possibly the worst soulmate in existence.

When Toby “Tubbo” Smith was eleven their soulmate passed away. The side effects of their soulmate’s passing was the worst pain the pre-teen had ever felt. They spent hours on end coughing up blood and feeling light-headed. For days they felt like they were spiraling. Tubbo had made up their mind during those days of mourning slash anguish that they would never feel anything worse than this.

During those days, Tubbo’s best friend Tommy had been kept away from them, despite both boy’s protests.

Tommy and Tubbo had been best friends since probably preschool. The two were practically attached at the hip and neither were seen without the other.

Tommy was more than disappointed when he found out that the two were not soulmates. Tommy had three for god sake so why couldn’t Tubbo be one of them! This did not stop Tommy from constantly grabbing Tubbo’s hand to be sure. It did not even matter to Tommy that while he had three small, white rings on his right wrist, Tubbo had a large white ring on their left thigh (this made it easier for Tubbo to hide when it changed from a white ring to a large black circle).

It did not matter though that the two were not soulmates. They fit together in every thought possible, and the two were impossibly clingy of the other. Tubbo often found themself being dragged along by Tommy onto his next adventure.

Tommy and Tubbo’s parents also got along very well, which was fortunate as Tommy’s mom tended to be rather overprotective of her only son. It also meant that the two were able to spend time together.

You could often find Tommy and Tubbo together, messing around at the nearby park near their school or at the ice cream store just down the street. Tommy loved to cause drama and loved to act (he refused to call it roleplaying). He actually had planned to join the drama club but left because he believed his personality was “too loud” to be confined to the stage. Tubbo was happy he never joined because it meant more time spent together, but they would never admit that.

So when Tommy had heard about Tubbo’s soulmate having died (three days after the fact, what the _hell_ ), he wanted nothing more than to be by his friends side. His parents tried to convince him to not pester Tubbo, mostly because they were not only going through emotional pain, but also an immense amount of physical pain that one can only feel from the loss of a loved one. Still after days of complaining, both boys were able to persuade their parents to let them visit one another.

When Tommy saw Tubbo for the first time in pain, he became extremely angry. He was angry that his soulmate had just up and died, and left Tubbo in the aftermath. Tubbo had never cried in front of Tommy, and all they could do was smile weakly at their best friend who practically had smoke coming out of his ears. Tommy, however, just wanted his friend’s pain to stop. He hated to see them crying.

Tubbo watched as Tommy darted across the room and rummaged through Tubbo’s backpack, they was too tired to argue with him about it, and then watched as Tommy sat on the edge of Tubbo’s bed, making sure he did not disturb them.

Tommy doodled for a second on his right wrist, Tubbo watching with curiously wide eyes, before he raised his wrist so that Tubbo could see from where they was lying.

Yes, Tubbo may have been in the worst physical pain they had ever experienced but the way they saw Tommy with determined look having drawn a small cartoon bee underneath his three empty soulmarks, affectionately labeling them his fourth soulmate, Tubbo felt lighter than they ever had.

Tubbo would have appreciated the sentiment a lot more if Tommy’s toothy grin actually had his two front teeth.

Tubbo never saw Tommy without that little cartoon bee on his wrist ever again.


	2. fall 01

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so sorry this took so long to finish ive been dealing with a lot of personal stuff that added up a lot over the past month. i promise im not abandoning this fic im still absolutely hyperfixated on found family sbi dynamic.

It was officially autumn, which meant that long gone were the days of sleepless, giggly sleepovers and a work-free environment. Fall was here and Tommy was back to focusing on school.

Today was a Monday and, unsurprisingly, he was incredibly late to his first class of the day (curse his alarm clock being too quiet. And no, he did not stay on call with Tubbo until four in the morning the previous night, shut up.) Today was also the day that Tommy met his first (second?) soulmate.

Tommy was lucky enough to have been born with all three soulmarks on his right wrist, meaning that he never had to wake up in the middle of the night or cry out in the middle of class because of the blinding pain that was the birth of your soulmate. Though he had nothing to compare it to, and he would never, ever compare it to Tubbo’s pain of losing his soulmate, Tommy had to argue that the feeling of touching your soulmate for the first time was probably the most unpleasant thing he ever experienced.

It was an accident, really, and Tommy was lucky to have touched him out of everyone in the crowd. He was late to class by at least ten minutes (he stopped checking his phone to conserve time) and was pushing through a crowd of irked bystanders who unfortunately got in his way. One second he was weaving around a mother and her daughter and the next moment his right arm went completely numb. What felt like a whole icicle had slammed through his wrist, creating an effect that could be described a little like the opposite of a branding iron.

Tommy hissed through gritted teeth, babying his arm and catching himself from completely keeling over from the sudden wave of _pain_. It ebbed away immediately, leaving the teen confused and angry.

“Oi, what the fuck, man!” He yelled angrily, making eye contact with the man next to him. He was tall, barely an inch or so above Tommy, and had long, pink hair that was pulled into a messy bun that did not fit his composure at all. He wore what Tommy assumed was athletic wear and had a small drawstring bag draped across his shoulder.

“Nice to meet you too,” the pink-haired man scoffed. He adjusted his bag. Tommy huffed, pulling himself up.

  
“The fuck did you hit me with, shit hurt like a bitch.”

The other man looked at him with an odd stare, his eyes slightly narrowing.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No?”

The other man reached for Tommy’s wrist. He flinched backward.

Techno retracted his hand warily. He narrowed his eyes and let his hand drop. “Check your wrist.”

Tommy broke eye contact to look down at his wrist. Two rings looked back at him. The middle was completely filled in.

“ _Oh_ ,” was all he said as he looked back up at the other man with wide eyes. The other man brought up his wrist to reveal two filled in circles and one ring.

“I’m Techno,” he raised his arm again as if to initiate a handshake.

“Tommy,” he met his hand in what would have been a way-too-formal handshake had Tommy not processed a sudden warmth that overtook him. He felt warm and comforted, and in that moment all the teen could think about was being near his soulmate for as long as possible. He let go of his hand almost immediately as soon as he touched it, batting it away a little aggressively, deciding that he would rather not fixate on that feeling for too long.

“Hey, so, um, this was cool and all-- but I am _very_ late for class,” Tommy started, embarrassed by stumbling over his words. “Fuck- um- It was nice to meet you, I guess, but I really have to go to my class,” he said with a weak smile, hoping that Techno would take the hint.

“Understandable. Do you have a phone?” Tommy blinked at the pink-haired man. “So we can text,” Techno explained.

“ _Shit_ , uh, right,” Tommy mumbled as he grabbed his phone from his back pocket, fumbling slightly, as he typed in the number Techno gave to him.. 

“So, uh…” Tommy said awkwardly, pocketing his phone.

“Now, you get to class. I’ll see you later,” Techno said with a small wave and turned around, effectively disappearing into the crowd.

_What a shit first impression_ , Tommy inwardly groaned. He felt like rolling his head back and screaming, but once again, he was in public and late to his first class.

Tommy made it to class a staggering thirty minutes late, as it had taken him a while to process his meeting with Techno. Once he made it to class, it had finally dawned on him that he had just met his first official soulmate.

_I still feel like fucking screaming._

Tommy’s English teacher was not too happy with the interruption and he had to explain to her multiple times that he did not have a valid excuse for being late. All he got in return was a snarky response about still being marked absent for disrupting and not having a lot of time left in the period. He was too busy internally debating whether to tell Tubbo about his soulmark or not to really care.

Tommy made his way to the back of class where his best friend sat with their two desks pushed together. The teen unceremoniously shrugged off his backpack and fell into his seat with an exaggerated sigh just loud enough to annoy Tubbo. Tubbo had spent the first thirty minutes of class dozing off and picking at their pencil eraser, and the teen had lightened up when they saw Tommy enter.

“Okay, I’m going to be honest, I have no idea what we’re doing,” Tubbo murmured when Tommy slid into his chair. “I was genuinely just pulling shit out of my arse when she called on me. Also, what the fuck made you so late?”

Tommy rolled up the sleeve of his sweater to show off the soulmark.

“Oh,” Tubbo stared.

Tommy pulled his binder out, haphazardly ripping out a piece of paper (“Tommy you have rings for a reason--” his mother would scold him,) and pulled out a pencil so it at least looked like he was working on the assignment. “That was my exact reaction, too.”

Tubbo waited a few moments as they both watched as their teacher made her way to the back of class, stopping at a duo just in front of them. “Is this a congratulations?” They whispered, leaning closer to Tommy, slightly concerned for their friend’s lack of enthusiasm.

“It was fucking weird! Like, I’ve never _not known_ what to say to someone and he just shows up and I didn’t know what to fucking say, Tubbo! God he’s going to think I’m just a weird--”

“Hello, boys. You two doing alright?” Their teacher made her way over, a pleasant smile set on her face.

“Yep, doing great, Mrs. R!” Tubbo piped up. She glanced at the two’s papers, which had about a total of two sentences each.

“Since you were late, Thomas,” Tommy resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the stupid formal name. “I expect an extra page. If you seem to know so much that you can show up halfway through class then this should be easy.” She said perkily, and then turned swiftly and left.

The two groaned. Tommy slid down in his chair melodramatically.

“It can’t’ve been that bad,” Tubbo said as they leaned over their paper to meet eye contact with Tommy, who now lay slouched in his chair.

“I don’t know what the fuck we’re writing about.”  
  
“Not that, stupid. Your soulmate.”

Tommy sat upright in his chair as he stretched out his back.

“Nah, Tubbo, you should have seen him, he was all tall and pink and shit,” he said in a hushed voice. Luckily the whole class also went completely silent. “He looked like twenty or something like that,” he added once the noise had picked up again.

Tubbo hummed in response. Tommy looked at them out of the corner of their eye, knowing that his friend was not focused on their assignment at all. He wondered absentmindedly why they had gone so silent.

“You alright, big man?” Tommy questioned, flicking Tubbo’s ear light-heartedly, and immediately pulling away. He pretended to not notice the way he missed how it felt to touch Techno, even if it was just a handshake. A wave of disgust overtook him, feeling like he betrayed his best friend (and first soulmate) for not feeling the same effect. It was unfair, why couldn’t Tubbo feel like that.

Tubbo glanced at him. “Promise you won’t laugh?”

“Swear on my other two soulmates.”

Tubbo’s lips quivered upwards slightly. “You won’t leave me for them, right?” Tubbo’s voice had dropped significantly, indicating to Tommy that his friend was genuinely concerned.

“Like you could get out of this friendship this easily,” Tommy laughed, hoping to lighten the mood. He did not handle sentimental situations very well (the bee was an exception).

“Prove it.”  
  
“Oh yeah?”

“Write this stupid fucking assignment for me.”

Tommy stifled a snort and punched the other teen's shoulder, forgetting for a moment the missing warmth.

  
  
  
  


**_techno at 11:08_ **

whats with the bee

**_me at 11:08_ **

the what?

**_techno at 11:09_ **

the bee on your wrist

i accidentally saw it when i picked up your wrist 

**_me at 11:15_ **

its 4 my friend tubbo

theyre my fourth soulmate

whos the other circle on ur wrist?

**_techno at 11:16_ **

my twin brother wilbur

idk how soulmates work lol, maybe he’s yours too???

**_me at 11:16_ **

how old are you anyways?

**_techno at 11:16_ **

17

you?

**_me at 11:18_ **

15>:(

hey why werent you in school then

**_techno at 11:19_ **

college, remember?

it’s literally like two blocks away from where we met

besides i had practice today

**_me at 11:19_ **

practice?

**_techno at 11:19_ **

im on the varsity baseball team

**_me at 11:20_ **

pog.

**_me at 11:47_ **

got a real name, techno?

**_techno at 11:48_ **

technoblade :p

  
  
  
  


Techno enjoyed walking home after practice with earbuds in. It let him destress from having to socialize all day, and it also helped him cool off after a particularly strenuous work out. He hated having a red face after practice. He just hated being messy, really, and the walks home helped him forget his knotted hair or whether his pants were covered with dirt again or not. Yeah, Techno owned a car, considering Wilbur never learned to drive, but he would always choose the walk home (plus it saved gas money).

Techno got home pretty early that day, considering he only had one early morning class and the rest of the day was entirely dedicated to practice. He was hoping that once he got home he would be able to take an extra long shower, prepare some lunch, maybe watch a youtube video or two or do some chores; really just anything to get his mind off of the day.

The chaos of practice nearly made him forget about the young boy he met that morning (or really Techno spending a good four hours avoiding his not-so-friendly teammates while still keeping a good image for his coach). He remembered how the boy was flustered and stuttering like crazy and the older teen could easily guess it was his first time meeting a soulmate, even without the identifying soulmarks.

Techno heard them before he even made it to the front door. He should have been surprised but honestly he was more annoyed than anything. There went his plans for a quiet household all to himself.

“Wil! ‘M home,” the pink-haired teen yelled as he locked the front door behind him. He heard a loud laugh and the strum of a chord that was incredibly out of tune, followed by a fit of giggles.

Techno made his way to his shared bedroom, opening it to see a droopy-eyed Schlatt and Wilbur lying lazily on his bed. Wilbur sat slouched over his guitar while Schlatt had his feet kicked up in his lap, most likely to annoy the other while he played on his guitar.

“Shouldn’t you guys be in class?”  
  
“Lighten up, Tech, beginning of the year means better skipping--” Schlatt paused and looked at the ceiling with a dedicated stare. “-- advantages? Yeah, advantages that’s a good word,” Schlatt finished, slurring his words ever so slightly. Had Techno not seen Schlatt get drunk many, many times before, he would have missed it entirely. 

“Have you been drinking?”

“Maaaaaaaayybe,” Wilbur said after a large gulp of air, his face red. He soon delved into another fit of laughter, with Schlatt grinning stupidly at the ceiling.

Techno could feel his patience thinning very quickly. _God he really needed a shower._

“I’ve been trying to text you all day, Wil,” Techno said as he shook his head. “Look who I found,” he showed off his wrist to the two.

Wilbur went dead silent and Schlatt froze next to him.

“That’s so cool,” Wilbur lunged for his brother’s arms, effectively latching onto the older one. The same warm sensation crawled up Techno’s arm. He was used to this feeling now and he realized that was probably why Tommy did not like him touching him earlier.

“Kids young. Tall as hell, though,” Techno mumbled as he brought back his arm, gently pushing Wil back onto his bed. His arm ached for the touch again. “He said he’s fifteen and has claimed his other friend as his soulmate, apparently. Kid doesn’t need us, I guess,” he joked, shrugging his shoulders.

“Oh, Schlatt-y, wannabe my fourth soulmate so you can stop being so fucking depressing,” Wilbur said with a wide smile, leaning over his guitar that sat dangerously in his lap to tease the other boy. Techno reached for it and placed it on his bed, knowing that sober Wilbur would not be too happy if drunk Wilbur broke his guitar in any way.

“Hop off,” Schlatt grumbled, pushing Wil’s face out of his rather aggressively.

“Geez, ‘s just a joke.” Wil turned to face Techno. “I wanna meet him,” he grinned.

“Right now?” Techno raised an eyebrow.

“What? What’s wrong with what I look like now??” Wilbur huffed. Schlatt coughed into his elbow and Techno blinked. “Okay, yeah, I get it.”

Techno chuckled. “I’m going to take a shower. Don’t bother me and eat something, you need to sober up, both of you. I’ll text him but I’m not promising anything.”

“Yesssirrr,” Wil said with an overemphasized salute.

  
  
  
  


**_me at 1:57_ **

hey are you free after school

**_tommy at 1:57_ **

depends 

what are we doing and are you paying?

**_me at 1:57_ **

idk my brother wants to meet you :/

**_tommy at 1:58_ **

that answered neither of my questions

very helpful

**_me at 1:59_ **

okay fine,,,,

**_me at 1:59_ **

do you like shakes?

**_me at 1:59_ **

we can get them after if you want :p

**_tommy at 1:59_ **

can i bring tubbo

**_me at 2:00_ **

sure knock yourself out

  
  
  
  


Techno’s shower was not nearly as long as he had hoped for. He had spent a good five minutes combing out his tangles (an aftermath of him getting ready too hastily) and then spent another ten minutes just standing in the shower and enjoying the quiet. Or at least as quiet as it could get with the muffled shouts of his brother and Schlatt coming through the thin walls.

Once he had gotten out, he realized that all his brother and Schlatt had done since he had left was move from the bedroom to the living room. Wilbur now laid face first on the carpet.

“What are you doing?”

“Schleeping,” Wilbur’s muffled voice answered.

“He’s been like that for ten minutes now,” Schlatt stumbled, who laid on the couch with his eyes closed.

“Did you at least eat anything?” Both shook their heads rather slowly. Techno sighed. “Okay, then I’m making sandwiches. What do you guys want?”

Schlatt hummed. “Ham and cheese.”

  
“Peanut butter and jelly.”

“We ran out of jelly two days ago, Wil.”

  
  
“Then just peanut butter.”

Techno got to work in the tight kitchen.

“You know what sounds really good!” Wilbur exclaimed, propping himself up on his elbows.

“Lower your voice,” Schlatt complained and rolled over, pulling the pillow over his ears.

“Those smoothies they sell down the street, they sound fucking amazing right about now,” Wil sighed and flopped back on the carpet.

“Water also sounds good for you two,” Techno said as he walked over with two paper plates. He handed the two their plates and he went back to the kitchen to get them both a glass of water. They seemed to wake up immediately.

Techno grabbed the other half of Wilbur’s sandwich and made sure that his brother watched him take a rather large bite. Wil seemed pleased with this and took a petite bite of his sandwich.

“Okay so we have an hour before Tommy’s out of school which gives us enough time to make you two--” Techno pointed an accusing finger at the two disheveled boys “--presentable to society.” Techno sat down on the coffee table across from Schlatt and leaned on the palm of his hand. He took another bite of his sandwich.

“I’m guessing you don’t want to be there?” Techno asked, looking over at Schlatt.

“I’m free, baby, I don’t need no soulmate,” Schlatt grinned.

“So that’s a no?” Wil frowned.

“Baby, guess,” Schlatt grumbled. “No offense, Tech, your sandwiches are absolute shit.” He complained as he set down his empty plate.

Wil stared blankly at the plate. “How the hell did you eat that whole thing I feel like throwing up right now.” Techno nudged his water towards his brother not-so-discreetly.

“Drink some water, take some aspirin,” Techno said, voice steady. “So I’ll drop you off at your house when we leave to go pick him up, ‘kay?” Schlatt nodded as he got up to throw away his plate.

“So what’s the kids name, anyways?” Wilbur said after swallowing another bite.

“Tommy,” the pink-haired man answered. “I love you, Wil, but please brush your teeth. You reek of alcohol.”

“Yeah, Wil, do as dad says,” Schlatt mocked as he laid back down on the couch, kicking up his feet again. Techno was at least happy he did not have his shoes on like he used to in the past.

“What classes did you guys have today anyway,” Techno said, ignoring Schlatt again. Wilbur scrunched his nose and he looked like he got lost in thought.

“No idea.”

“Lovely.”

  
  
  
  


Tommy anxiously glanced at his phone again, rereading the last text that his new soulmate had sent him. _Here_. What a stupid answer. Where was here anyways?

Tubbo trudged behind Tommy as they looked around again.

“Okay, I’m sorry, when you said he had pink hair I was hoping he would be a little more outstanding in the crowd,” Tubbo protested.

Tommy ignored his friend’s complaints and scanned the area one more time.

“Hey! Bee kid and friend!” Tommy looked over his shoulder and spotted a boy half out of a car window. He stayed glued in his spot for a second, questioning whether agreeing to meet up with Techno and his brother without telling his mother was a good idea.

**_techno at 3:07_ **

the screaming kid is my brother

youre safe dw

“That’s him.”  
  
“Sorry to break it to you, Tommy, but he doesn’t have pink hair. Need to get something checked out?”

“That’s his brother, stupid.”  
  


Tommy and Tubbo made their way over to the car.

“Hey, Techno,” Tommy said with a wide smile as he saw that the boy he met earlier that morning was sitting in the driver’s seat. “You guys promise not to kidnap me and Tubbo, right?” Tubbo elbowed his side.

“Pinkie promise,” the other boy (Wilbur?) said with a smirk. Tommy slid into the backseat followed by a slightly hesitant Tubbo.

  
“Okay, seatbelts on, ‘m not tryna get pulled over,” Techno said as he started the car. “Everyone, this is Wilbur.” He turned slightly in his seat to look at Tubbo through the rearview mirror. “I’m Techno, by the way.”

“I guessed.”

Wilbur excitedly reached over the center console and turned in his seat so he could face the younger boy, his arm extended. Tommy was slightly confused for a second before he realized what he wanted.

The teen reached for the older boy’s arm, flinching away as soon as they made contact. Tommy pulled away from the boy while Wilbur’s eyes widened.

“Wil, seatbelt.”

Wil sat back down in the passenger seat with his legs criss-crossed. “That’s so fucking cool,” Wil murmured, looking at the new circle that lay on his wrist, Tommy doing the same.

The rest of the car ride was full of simple small talk (even though Tommy absolutely hated small talk). Tommy had to admit that the car ride was also quite awkward, which was something he had dreaded. 

Tommy learned a couple of small things during that short car ride though, like how Wilbur’s favorite color was blue and that Techno was a strict vegetarian.

Wilbur was a lot easier to talk to than Techno. He was happy and giggly and turned in the front seat rather often to make eye contact with Tommy or Tubbo only to be pushed back by Techno. Tommy learned about Wil’s passion for music and his eagerness to get to know new people. Tommy was an extrovert so he understood that pretty well. Wil was a lot more outgoing than Techno was, but Tommy could tell just by their quiet laughter and quick remarks that the two got along very well. Tommy also realized about two minutes into the car ride that Wil was stupid drunk (much to Techno’s disappointment) and decided that Wil was exactly his type of snarky friend.

Techno was definitely a lot more reserved than Tommy had guessed, but he did not hold much against him considering that he was the one driving three teenagers around town. Techno looked a lot more put together than he did when Tommy had first met him. He was wearing clean, form-fitting clothes and had his previously messy hair brushed and braided together (which contrasted against Wil’s own oversized knitted sweater, a pair of jeans with dark stains on the knees, and unbrushed hair hidden with a simple grey beanie). 

Tubbo, on the other hand, was incredibly quiet (embarrassingly for Tommy, at least). This made no sense to Tommy because Tubbo was almost always outgoing and pleasant in a group. Tommy spent a lot of the car ride pinching Tubbo whenever he got the chance only to have the other boy bat his hand away aggressively.

The place they stopped at was one of the mock-50s diners. Tommy could tell from the outside that the inside most likely had white and black checkered floors, waitresses with dresses that rode too high, and a musty jukebox that looked like it housed a lot of cockroaches (he was right). Tommy did not dislike these types of restaurants, he just hated how much attraction they got when they were just the same cut and paste style. But Tubbo looked happy to be here so Tommy did not voice any of his concerns.

“I know this place,” Tubbo scrambled out of the car quickly, “Jackie’s Diner, right?” Techno nodded his head as he got out of the car too. “My dad used to take me here all the time,” Tubbo finished.

“The shit here’s expensive I don’t know why--”

“Oh, shut up, I’m paying,” Techno interrupted Wil. 

The booth that the four of them sat in was one of those noisy, crunchy kinds, which was not surprising at all to Tommy. A slightly uncomfortable silence blanketed the group.

“Okay so I’m thinking about being plain and getting vanilla but I don’t wanna drink it alone. Anyone want to share?” Wilbur finally said (thank god for the one who cannot read social cues).

“Only if we make it chocolate and vanilla,” Tubbo countered, looking over the edge of their menu at the boy sitting across from them.

Wilbur narrowed his eyes slightly. “Deal.”

“Alright, big man. You seem like the type of person who will drive everyone to a diner and then get nothing. Am I right?” Tommy said, leaning towards Techno. Techno simply just folded his menu and placed his and Wil’s in a pile on the edge of the table.

“Actually, I was planning on getting cookies and cream,” he stated simply, voice still incredibly monotone. (It annoyed the shit out of Tommy but a part of him really liked it too).

The youngest teen guffawed loudly, falling back into the booth. “Cookies and cream? That’s so fucking basic, holy shit!” He laughed breathlessly. 

“Tommy, you seem like the kind of person who would order confetti or cotton candy or some nasty flavor like that,” Wil butted in.

“He is.”

“Tubbo!”

The two older teens watched with amusement as the younger of the group started bickering.

“Hello! What can I get for y’all fellas today?” The waiter walked up to the table, notepad in one hand and pen in the other, looking up at the four in the booth expectantly.

“Chocolate and vanilla.”

“Cookies and cream, please,”

“Birthday cake,” (“--Hah! I was right!--”).

Tommy turned and gave Wilbur a rather rude finger once the waitress had left, only making Wil’s giggles louder.

“Y’know what, I take back what I said about Techno’s cookies and cream because you chose fucking _vanilla_ , the most basic fucking ice flavour there is,” Tommy huffed, crossing his arms mockingly.

“Don’t hate on vanilla! It’s the root of all ice cream flavours, how could you say that!”

The four of them settled into easy banter, the soothing diner setting blanketing over the group pleasantly. The four seemed to fit together naturally, like finding the couple missing pieces of a puzzle. That afternoon ended with Tommy’s indecent yells, Wilbur’s echoing chuckles, Techno’s monotone quips, and Tubbo’s gentle laughter.

(Not too far away, a man yearned).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk why the other note is here but whatever mr minecraft is coming back soon


	3. fall 02

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i actually finished writing this during phil's sub server stream yesterday:]  
> also quick reminder that everything in this chapter is platonic bc i dont want yall nsfwmcyt's to get the wrong idea  
> [everyone say ty to my beta:]](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gargalesthesiaaa)

The morning was dark and the small digital clock on the counter was just starting to blink over to one in the morning. Philza was tired as hell.

The young man worked an exhausting two part-time jobs and had a hobby of streaming with whatever free time he could muster from his busy schedule. He had finished college, of course, but the man did not have many plans for his life, constantly stuck with worrying over the past and present to really contemplate much of the future.

Privately, he had hoped for his streaming ‘career’ to skyrocket. He wished to be part of the lucky few who just flourished on the internet (the longer he waited, the more he doubted). But say if someone were to ask him in a fleeting moment on the bus what he wanted to do with his life, he would probably say finance or some other boring office job (it was secretly his biggest fear).

Night shift was a drag. Less customers meant less time spent doing something productive, which meant more time counting the amount of ‘for sale’ stickers he could spot littered around the crappy corner store he worked at. His shift consisted of mainly restocking, which he usually finished by the time it hit midnight, and dealing with the occasional wasted customer looking for cigs.

Today was especially slow, as it was a Monday night (or technically, Tuesday morning), and absolutely no one had come in for at least an hour. The employee had already walked up and down all the aisles multiple times, had done a quick sweep of the area, and even wet a cloth to wipe down any flat surfaces, but he currently sat fiddling with a container of pens. The bar stool Phil sat on was starting to take a toll on his back, as it had for the past few months of working.

Philza spent a lot of his life yearning. Whether that be for someone to listen to him, for someone to hold him while he cried, or just someone to miss.

(He spent a lot more time than he would like to admit thinking about what it would be like to wake up with good morning texts or wake up and be excited to talk to someone.)

As a teen, Phil found it rather hard to make friends. He always had at least one of two close friends with him at a time, but after graduation, most of them had drifted. It was not anyone’s fault (and sometimes that hurt more), they just simply grew apart with age.

Phil had online friends, too. But they were not nearly as close with him as he wished that he could be.

Phil longed more and more, only growing more intense as months turned into years. As he got older, a seed of doubt planted itself in his mind, rooting deep and spreading with a strong grip. What if this feeling stayed? What if he never found his soulmates and was destined to long for something more for the rest of his life.

Recently the feeling had only gotten worse, to the point where sometimes he’d feel like a heavy rock had settled in the pit of his stomach and a round-the-clock knot formed at the back of his throat, threatening to break at any given moment.

He guessed rather quickly that this was due to the lack of pigment on his skin where three white circles should be.

He snapped out of his thoughts with the sound of the door opening. The customer spent a couple minutes standing in the snack aisle before choosing an assortment of junk food. Phil rang them up and the customer was on their way.

He took a second to think about going home: take a quick shower, hopefully squeeze in a short nap, and then maybe he’d be able to start streaming for a couple hours.

He glanced at the clock again, taking in that only ten minutes had passed since he had last checked. He released an exaggerated sigh as he laid his head down in his arms. He hated slow nights.

  
  
  


Tubbo’s house was arguably one of Tommy’s favorite places to go. First off, Tubbo’s parents were not nearly as strict as Tommy’s are. Plus, they’re probably some of the most accepting people out there. (Not that Tommy’s weren’t, but they were always just a little more open-minded than most).

(They always kept the miniature coke cans that Tommy loved to down in two gulps restocked. No one else drank them and Tubbo’s parents never complained.)

Although Tommy should have expected it, he was genuinely surprised when he biked over to Tubbo’s house for the weekend, only a few days after meeting Techno and his brother, and was completely bombarded with excited congratulations.

It was a cold, cloudy Saturday morning, just a little before ten in the morning, and Tommy was cursing himself for waking up  _ so goddamn early _ .

( _ Stupid Tubbo and them wanting to hang out. I could be sleeping right now! _ )

Tommy quickly waved the thought off, knowing it was not fair to be mad at his friend right now. It wasn't really a secret that Tubbo had gotten increasingly clingy these past few days, evidently because of Tommy’s newfound soulmates. Tommy couldn't blame them, he would be feeling the exact same way if Tubbo’s soulmate was still alive. He knew it was hypocritical of him to say it (and just a little bit selfish) but Tommy was always glad that he never had to share Tubbo. (He realized sadly that Tubbo would eventually have to get used to sharing him because life would never be the same now that he found his soulmates.) Therefore, Tommy secretly vowed that he would not complain about all the increased hangouts that Tubbo insisted on.

He pulled up to Tubbo’s house, a quaint two story building, and slid off his bike, unceremoniously dropping his bike in the front yard. Almost as soon as his hands left his bike handles, he was pulled into a tight hug.

“Tommy! Tubbo told us and we’re so proud of you!”

“Yep! Finding your soulmate is so exciting, let alone finding two at one time!”

“I bet that your mom must be so happy.”

“How is she? I should call her--”

“No!” He yelled, his face heating up as he realized it came out louder than expected. He wriggled out of the hold that Tubbo’s parents had on him, clearing his throat awkwardly. “I, um, actually haven’t told my parents yet,” he mumbled, making quick eye contact with Tubbo who stood behind their parents back.

Tubbo’s mom huffed surprisingly, shaking her head in faux anger. “Thomas! She needs to know.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m planning on telling her as a surprise!” Tommy quickly piped up, slipping past the couple to grab Tubbo’s hands. “We’re gonna head upstairs,” he said anxiously.

The pair booked it up the stairs before Tubbo’s parents could pummel Tommy with more questions again. Tommy didn’t relax until the lock was clicked behind him.

He sighed and fell over onto his friend’s messy, unmade bed.

“Your sisters awake?” Tommy asked after a short silence settled over the two. The other shook their head, sitting down at their desk.

“Still asleep,” they replied.

“And you think I wanna be here this early, big man?” Tommy snorted.

“You’re already here aren’t you?”

Tommy rolled his eyes, sitting up quickly so that he could peel off the backpack he had brought with him.

“Brought my computer, by the way,” Tommy started. “In case you wanna play on the realm. It’s been a while.” He pushed the zippers open and dumped out of the contents of the bag, which contained his laptop, a bag of skittles, and some orange soda. He passed one of the bottles to Tubbo, who accepted it with a warm smile.

“Actually, no,” Tubbo said, leaning further back into his desk chair. “It’s been a while for you.  _ I _ , on the other hand, played on it last night.”

“Of course you were.”

Tommy got up to plug in his laptop charger and started booting it up.

“Have you really not told your mom about Techno and Wilbur?” Tubbo asked quietly.

“No,” Tommy wanted to drop the subject immediately.

“Who’s been picking you up before school these past few days then?” Tubbo asked. Ever since Tommy had met his soulmates a week prior, Techno had offered to drop off Tommy and Tubbo at school every morning. Tommy was pretty sure it was because Techno wanted to make sure Wilbur was alright but he didn’t mind the free trip (plus, Techno never asked for gas money.)

Another blanket of silence settled over the two.

“Actually, no, I don’t want to play Minecraft. Your computer is so fucking slow it’ll lag too much to be fun,” Tubbo said, finally breaking the silence. Tommy silently agreed as he shut his laptop.

“What’cha wanna do then, Big T?” he said as he rolled over onto his back and stuck his legs in the air, already bored.

“We could go to the park!” Tubbo said after a moment of deliberation.

Tommy glanced at the one window in the room which was currently being pelted by a steady stream of rain.

Tommy looked back at his friend. “I’m sorry, Tubbo, could you repeat that?”

The other cringed. “Yeah I heard it as soon as I said it.”   
  
“We could watch some good ol’ Twitch,” Tommy suggested.

“We do that everytime you come over.”

“Because it’s not fucking boring, that’s why.”

Another thing about Tubbo’s house that Tommy absolutely adored was how fucking cool their room was. Tubbo had the type of room that you would save on Pinterest or something, it’s why Tommy spent so much fucking time over there.

They had a strip of LEDs around the top of their room and hung fake vines randomly. Tubbo also had a tendency to tape anything on to their walls. It currently sported cardboard cutouts of Minecraft disks, a flag of their made-up country L’Manberg, and a calendar that had not been changed for three months, among other things. They also had a projector that they would hook up to their computer and an old, dusty speaker they got four years ago for Christmas.

Most nights whenever Tommy would spend the night, the two would always end up with purple or blue LEDs at four in the morning and watching one of their favorite streamers who was either projected onto the roof or the wall, blasted through the speaker. Those nights always ended with one of Tubbo’s sisters coming into their room to complain about the noise or to tell the two to stop giggling so loud. Then they would wake up the next morning ( afternoon, really) and repeat.

The two ended up cuddling under a pile of blankets as the day went by and the temperature dropped. They were only interrupted when Tubbo’s little sister had come in and thrown a bag of greasy fast food at them for lunch.

Night approached the two a lot faster than they had expected. Tommy realized after cracking his back and grimacing that he had not moved in a couple hours. He gently pushed Tubbo off his thigh where his head currently laid.

“Imma piss, be right back.”

Tommy trudged down the hallway, the gloomy day settling slowly into night. It was starting to get obnoxiously dark now that the Sun was going down. He could hear laughter coming from the TV in the living room and he could hear the gentle conversation of one of Tubbo’s sisters on the phone. 

Don’t get him wrong, Tommy absolutely loves his family and his home, but sometimes it can be a little underwhelming as an only child. Plus his mom was always a neat freak, and sometimes his house never fully felt  _ lived in _ , rather a hospital room he unfortunately slept in.

After the short trip to the bathroom, Tommy stumbled back into the room with a large yawn. He fell face first into Tubbo’s bed with a groan.

“Who you wanna watch now,” Tubbo asked. They had moved since Tommy had left and were now sitting straight up. They were scrolling aimlessly through Twitch.

“Y’know how fucking cool it would be if we were streamers,” Tommy mentioned randomly, looking up at Tubbo as he propped his head on his hands.

Tubbo laughed through his nose. “You would burn out so fast,” they teased.

“What the fuck. That was so hurtful, man.” Tommy looked at them in exaggerated offense, eyebrows furrowed and mouth twisted down. He flopped back down on the bed dramatically, staring up at Tubbo’s popcorn ceiling.

”We would be so funny though!” Tubbo rolled their eyes. “I’m serious, bro, think about it,” Tommy fantasized. “Tommy and Tubbo: the big men of Twitch!”

“As if,” Tubbo scoffed.

“Oi, don’t be such a downer. We could do it, idiot.”   
  


“No, you,” Tubbo mumbled lazily, ending the conversation effectively.

Tommy glanced over at the screen.

“Philza’s live,” he stated.

“That he is.”

Phil was a small streamer, someone that Tubbo had found one day when he was exploring the small creators tag. The man was streaming with about fifty something viewers at the time. Since then, he had grown quite a lot, at least in Tommy’s eyes, and often had a consistent five hundred viewer average.

The two settled into yet another comfortable silence, this time with Tommy leaning on Tubbo. Tommy was half asleep when Tubbo aggressively knocked his shoulder.

“His arm! Tommy, his arm!”

“Gah, explain, what the fuck does his arm mean,” Tommy grumbled, curling tighter under the blanket. Tubbo yanked on the blanket, leaving a very peeved Tommy. “What. The. Fuck.”

“Look at his arm, Tommy,” Tubbo pleaded again.

Tommy looked over, realizing that Philza looked to be in an argument with his chat. The first thing Tommy noticed was that the man looked very stressed and he was currently in his beginning stream set-up, with the occasional fanart of his Minecraft avatar sliding past. He also was wearing short sleeves, which was incredibly uncommon for the man who almost always wore hoodies.

“--Listen, chat, we can all be adults here--”

A dono interrupted the man: “ _ PH1LZA SOULMATE POG????? _ ” The text-to-speech read.

“--Chat, I am never wearing short-sleeves again,” he sighed on screen, raising his hand to hold his head, which also showed off the reflected image of three, symmetrical white circles on his wrist. Tommy’s eyes widened.

“You don’t think…” Tommy trailed off, looking down at his wrist, where one empty white ring glared accusingly back.

“Think about how famous we could be!”

Tommy side-eyed the other, as if conveying a ‘ _ what the fuck is wrong with you _ ’ look.

“Oh, look who’s being a downer now,” Tubbo teased, hitting the boy lightly on his shoulder. Tommy responded by aggressively pushing the other off the bed.

“I was kidding, y’know,” Tubbo grumbled from where they sat tangled in sheets on the floor. They both sit in silence for a moment.

“It would be pretty cool if Philza Minecraft was my third soulmate,” Tommy said with a distant voice.

“That would be pretty poggers,” Tubbo commented, placing their head in their hands.

“I don’t think it would be possible though.”

“One in seven point five trillion.”

Tommy cackled.

“Imagine how many viewers we could get,” Tommy said, his voice piping up a whole octave.

“So you’re using him for views?” Tubbo asked.

“Duh, obviously, who the fuck do you think I am?” Tommy joked, falling backwards to lay down on the bed. Tubbo climbed back on the bed to lay on their stomach. “I mean, if he really  _ is _ my soulmate, he would do anything for me, right?” Tommy laughed at the impossible statement.

“True.”

“I would be like,” Tommy paused so that he could pick himself up and looked at the other. “ _ Pwetty pwease _ , mister Philza, lend some views,” Tommy pleaded in a baby voice, placing his hands together and sticking his lower lip out to make a pouting face.

Tubbo threw a pillow at the boy.

“Shut the fuck up, Tommy.”

Tommy looked back at the screen, catching Phil ending his stream, his chat going wild about the accidental ‘soulmate reveal.’

“It’s probably just a coincidence, Tubbster,” Tubbo lifted their eyebrows at the other. “Seriously, what’s the chances that I’m soulmates with someone semi-famous?”

“It never hurts to try.” Tubbo shrugged.

“Try what, Tubbo? Donate a dollar saying ‘ _ oh hey by the way you don’t know who I am or anything about me but I’m your soulmate _ ?’”

“That’s exactly what you should do.”

Tommy groaned into his hands.

“No, Tubbo!”

At the same moment, one of Tubbo’s sisters launched into the room.

“Oi, losers, we’re going to the pizza place down the street. Wanna come or you want us to bring something back?”

“Is it the one with the arcade?” Tommy asked, beaming with excitement, as he cut off Tubbo who he was pretty sure would say no.

“I dunno don’t ask me,” she deadpanned.

“Thanks, that helps a lot,” Tubbo sighed, pulling themselves off the bed to grab their shoes.

“So, you’re going?” The two nodded. “Cool, I’ll tell mum,” she said, leaving the room with the door wide open.

“ _ Bruh _ .”

“It’s the one with the arcade, Tommy, get your shoes.”

The arcade was a fun distraction for them. The two shovelled down their food quickly and booked it to the conjoined room with a couple spare bucks that Tubbo had mooched off their mum.

The two sat in one of those cheap theatre boxes with colorful plastic guns with such a shit aim that they probably haven’t worked properly since the 2000s. They were having fun though, and it was something Tommy tried his best to not take for granted.

(Especially since Tommy could never get the feeling of touching Techno,  _ his real soulmate _ , out of his mind.)

Tommy loved Tubbo. He would never tell them that, because he didn’t want their head to get too big, but it still hurt Tommy with every small interaction between the two that had changed since he met Techno.

Tommy was overjoyed with the two small circles on his wrist and what they meant, but if it meant losing Tubbo in the process, he wanted nothing to do with it.

Tommy cried out angrily as his avatar lost his last bit of health left, screening a large ‘ _ GAME OVER _ ’ over the boy’s field of view. Tubbo laughed as they continued shooting beside him. Tommy groaned and tried his best to distract the other so that they would also die.

“You don’t gotta be a sore loser, Toms,” Tubbo complained later on, body slouching.

“I don’t give a fuck,” Tommy shrugged, grinning. “Wanna play air hockey?”

“You can’t cry if you lose,” Tubbo warned.

Tommy shouldered the other as he inserted the last of his coins.

“Last game?” Tubbo asked.

“Yep.”

The game didn’t last as long as Tommy had hoped. He also won, surprisingly, and he easily held this above Tubbo’s head for the rest of the night, even long after they had gone home.

It was around two in the morning when Tommy had stirred from his sleepy position on Tubbo’s bed. He blinked his eyes, surprised to see that Tubbo was still awake, phone in hand. This worried Tommy a bit, as the older was almost always the first to fall asleep.

“Sorry if I woke you.” Tubbo apologizes, shifting in place. They glanced down at Tommy.

“You didn’t, don’t worry,” Tommy yawned. “Why’ya still awake?”

“Dunno. Thinking, I guess,” Tubbo said with a quiet voice, looking back down to their phone.

Tommy sighed, rubbing his eyes hard enough so that he could see dots, contemplating what to say next. He was so goddamn tired right now. “Go to bed, big man,” was what he settled on a few moments later.

Tubbo glanced over his phone, staring at Tommy for a couple seconds.

“Okay this is just getting fucking weird,” Tommy said, any last remnants of sleep seeping away in an instant. “Just tell me what you wanna say-- and don’t lie, I know you want to say something.” He paused. “I can see it in your eyes, bitch!” The younger boy decided to add last minute to lighten the mood, leaning close with wide eyes and a scrunched up mouth.

“You can see it in my eyes?” Tubbo raised an eyebrow, amused.

“Duh.” Tommy flopped back down.

Tubbo sighed and pinched the bridge of their nose, lowering their phone with the other hand. They pulled their knees to their chest and looked down at the sheets, seemingly reserved. Suddenly, it clicked for Tommy.

“Wait,” he started, propping himself on both elbows in realization. “Is this about…” Tommy trailed off, waiting for approval from Tubbo. The other nodded with a quiet sniffle.

“Oh,  _ Tubs _ ,” Tommy began.

“No!” Tubbo interrupted. “No, I don’t-- I don’t want to talk about this right now, Tommy. Drop it.”

Tommy huffed indignantly, knowing it would be hard to tell Tubbo what he wanted to if the other was going to pull the ‘ _ I’m uncomfortable _ ’ card.

“Come on, Tubbo. Please,” Tommy silently pleaded. Silence settled over the two and for a second Tommy thought that Tubbo didn’t hear him. Slowly, Tubbo nodded their head and attempted to hold back another sniffle with a quick wipe of their nose.

“Tubs,” Tommy started again, picking himself up so that he could place his hands on Tubbo’s shoulders. “Tubs, I want you to know that I will never,  _ ever _ replace you. I know this will be hard to understand these first few months, and it may take a while for you to see it, but I want you to know something very important: I will drop all three of those motherfucks, even the popular one, if it meant having you.”   
  
Tubbo smiled weakly. Tommy swore he could see tears swelling in their eyes.

“Besides, haven’t we already been planning to live together since like, ever?” Tommy laughed. Tubbo smiled. “D’you wanna hug, big man?”

Tubbo nodded again, wiping away a stray tear, their voice trapped in their throat.

Tommy pulled the other into a tight hug, neither wanting to pull away from the warm embrace. It was a few long seconds before they both decided to draw back. “I love you, but if you ever tell anyone I was a sappy fuck tonight I’m going to kill you,” Tommy warned playfully.

(Tommy still swears he’s not good at social situations.)

  
  
  


Phil didn’t have panic attacks often. Obviously, he’s had them in the past, but it had been so long since his last attack that it had caught him completely off guard.

It was a mistake, really. (A mistake that would be held over his head for as long as Phil placed himself in the public eye).

(A small part of him told him to disappear, to leave the internet and never come back. And as soothing as the idea sounded Phil knew he could never leave behind streaming).

He knew he would lose privacy every time he clicked the ‘ _ go live _ ’ button or everytime he posted on social media, but the one thing he never wanted to lose was his soulmate’s privacy.

It was a mistake, such a huge, magnificent, mistake. He was still so very sleep deprived and he had not thought about hiding his marks. 

  
It was stupid, so, so _ stupid _ .

Now his viewers knew, now they knew.

And his soulmates, his poor soulmates, they would never have privacy ever again.

Phil pulled at a lock of his hair.

Now it seemed like practically everyone who gave one shit about a small streamer like Phil knew about the three circles on his wrist.

His timeline was going wild, a mix of people constantly tweeting the man pestering him about his wrist or people asking who the hell  _ Ph1lza _ was.

(He begged for publicity).

(Not like this).

(“ _ Any publicity is good publicity _ .” Bullshit).

A frustrated sob slipped through his lips, anger washing over him tenfold. He tried his hardest not to cry.

Crying was a sign of weakness. Phil could not cry. Not over something that was completely his fault.

( _ He was selfish. He was overreacting. He was so self-absorbed). _

He tried to ground himself, reminding himself of where he was, who he was, what he was doing. He told himself he needed to get up, he needed to clean himself off, he needed to eat. His breathing slowed as he dropped his hands from his head.

(He ignored the wisps of hair that fell along with it).

A ping from his phone dragged him back down.

(His mother was right.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mwah


	4. fall 03

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if ur one of my irls that found this acc........ hey:smiley:  
> ANYWAYS EVERY SAY THANK YOU TO MY [BETA](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gargalesthesiaaa) HE'S HELPED ME OUT SO MUCH IN WRITING THIS CHAPTER + JUST GENERAL LIFE STUFF SAY I LUV U BETA!!!!!
> 
> slight cw for nicotine and arguing

Techno’s fingers thrummed against the wheel idly as he waited for his car to slow to a stop. He clicked his pinkie down to turn on the blinker. He turned into the drop off zone, resisting the urge to slam his head on the wheel due to the massive amount of traffic that crowded the area.

Next to him sat his brother, who shouted the lyrics to whatever indie song he was currently obsessed with. Tommy and Tubbo (whom Wilbur had  kinda affectionately dubbed the ‘clingy duo’) sat in the back, elbowing each other while they shared their homework.

“Oi, children, get out, chop chop,” Wilbur barked as soon as Techno got the chance to squeeze between two soccer mom vans.

“Call me child again and I’ll start stabbin’ shit if you ain’t careful,” Tommy growled, Tubbo already pressed against his back, eager to get out of the car.

“You’d miss me too much,” Wilbur said with a sly smile and turned around in his seat to look at Tommy.

“No I would not, you fuckin’ bitch. I won’t see you again and it’ll be the best thing ever.,” Tommy argued back, stubborn as ever.

“Tommy, get out of the car already! I’m not trying to be late to English dude, our teacher already hates us enough,” Tubbo whined as they shook Tommy’s arm harshly.

“ _ Pussy _ ,” Tommy grumbled as he finally slid out of the car. He quickly shot Wilbur a middle finger, who responded by sticking his tongue out. The two earned a few angry stares from some parents for their ‘inappropriate’ antics. Tubbo fell into Tommy’s backpack to push him forward, and the two stumbled towards their school.

“Alright!” Wilbur exclaimed, relaxing back into his seat again. Techno tried his best to get out of the parking lot quickly, but only got an irritable honk from an impatient father. “Schlatt wanted to know when we’re coming by,” Wilbur relayed after he put his feet up on the dashboard. He scrolled through his phone leisurely, presumably to change the song again. Techno smacked his legs irritably, upper lip curled at the other’s nonchalance.

“Don’t you have class today?” Techno huffed, finally getting out of the parking lot after he accidentally cut off some random parent.

“Sadly, yes,” Wilbur sighed, relenting and dropping his lanky legs from their propped up position.

“It seems like you haven’t had class a lot lately.”

The other shrugged. “So…”

Techno rubbed the bridge of his nose and exhaled. “Tell him another ten minutes.” Wilbur nodded with a grin and went back to typing.

The rest of the ride mostly consisted of Wilbur serenading Techno with Carly Rae Jepsen while the pink-haired boy tried his best not to get a headache from Wilbur’s off-key singing.

“Hey, babes!” Wilbur leaned out the window and waved his hand exaggeratedly once they pulled up to Schlatt’s house. He blew grandiose kisses to the other man, who glared at him.

“Don’t say that,” Schlatt deadpanned as he slid into the backseat. He threw his backpack in haphazardly and slumped into the leather seats.

“What, are you embarrassed, baby? My love, sugar, bunny, honey, prince--”

“I will literally shove my foot up your ass, shut the fuck up,” Schlatt scoffed and reached his hand over to smack Wilbur’s head.

“He’s just embarrassed,” Wil whisper-shouted to Techno. Techno blew some air through his mouth as he pulled out of the neighborhood, luckily not cutting off anyone this time.

“Hey, did you bring your puff today?” Wilbur asked, changing the subject.

“You’re smoking nic again?” Techno piped up, speaking up for the first time in a while. “When did that happen?” He met Schlatt’s eyes in the rearview mirror, almost accusedly.

“I mean, I didn’t _ push _ it, but,” Schlatt dragged out the last syllable. He paused, “I definitely didn’t stop him.”

“Bruh.”

“Oi, I’m not addicted or anything--”

  
  
“You said that last time.” Techno murmured.

“You’re not going to kill me or something if I take a hit right?” Wilbur asked, looking at Techno suspiciously.

Techno sighed, “Don’t let mom find out.”

“She won’t!” Wilbur smiled innocently.

“Remember the last time you said that?” Schlatt laughed.

“I do, I was grounded for months,” Techno said, holding back a grin.

“Y’know Techie-- (“--don’t call me Techie--”) Y’know  _ Techie _ , you’ve never really cared this much before.” Schlatt spoke up, glancing up from his phone to meet Techno’s eyes again.

Techno thought for a second, trying his best to make sure he chose his words carefully. “Just worried, ‘s all,” he settled on. He decided that he’d rather leave out his fear of his brother’s depression and anxiety and privately thought that another addiction would not help at all.

Techno watched as his twin brother took a hit from Schlatt’s puff. He knew from the way that the inhale was a couple seconds too long and how he only had a few muffled coughs that it wasn’t his first time. The last Techno had heard it had been at least a year since the last time he smoked nic. 

He pretended not to notice.

Techno ended up settling into silence as he made his way to campus while Wilbur and Schlatt fought over what song to play.

Now Technoblade didn’t want to seem overprotective or like a parent ushering his child too much, but a part of him wanted to pull the cig away from Wil and keep both him and Schlatt away from them. He never tried any of the substances that either Wil or Schlatt brought home, but he always tried his best to be there to make sure neither of them did anything stupid like walk in the middle of the street or fall out a window. The last time he was present for one of Wilbur’s sessions the night ended with Wil hunched over a toilet and sobbing about his paranoia. He gripped the wheel, his knuckles turning white, as he quietly shook his head to clear the memory.

“Techieee,” Wilbur whined, tugging his brother’s sleeve lightly.

“Yes?”

“You wanna stop by the store before we head off to class?” He pleaded, pouting his lip. “Pretty please.”

“We’re going to be waiting outside the classroom for like ten minutes anyway the professor’s always late,” Schlatt chimed in.

“Fine,” Techno gave in.

The nearest convenience store was a small gas station about two blocks down. Once the trio pulled into the parking lot, Schlatt quickly hopped out before Techno had even finished parking. Techno and Wil followed behind him.

“Hey, Wil,” Techno said as casually as possible once the two were inside. Wilbur was currently skimming the selection of teas, every once in a while commenting on a certain flavor or brand.

“Hm?”

“You know, er, you can tell me anything right…” Techno started. He quickly shook his head, internally yelling at himself for saying so  _ goddamn _ stereotypical. “Actually, hold on, that sounds stupid-- I’m not your therapist or-- something.” (He should’ve said anything.) “I can if you want me to be, though, but-- y’know. I-I know you, so... I mean-- I guess-- er-- To get to the point, um, I care about you. A lot. And--” he cut himself off, scratching the back of his neck nervously. Wilbur was frozen, crouching down in front of the glass door with his hand half-wrapped around a bottle. “I don’t want you to get bad again, is all.”

Wilbur was silent for a moment before he looked up to meet Techno’s eyes. Worry and something unidentifiable clouded his twin’s eyes quite obviously, and something about the concern made Wilbur’s heart warm. “Getting sappy on me, huh,” he quickly giggled, but it wasn’t his usual joke, and his laugh was cut off too quickly. 

“Come on, let’s go pay for this,” he quickly turned over his shoulder, leaving Techno to blow air out of his nose exasperatedly..

“Did you want anything else?” Techno called after him, which Wil responded with a simple ‘no, thank you.’ Techno grabbed a pack of six oreos for his mom. Techno himself wasn’t too hungry, so he stood awkwardly to the side, fiddling with his phone case.

“--Aw come on, man,” Techno heard Schlatt grumble as he walked up behind him and Wil.

“Sorry mate, I don’t feel like getting fired today,” the blonde cashier hummed on the other side of the counter. His accent was thick, not from around here, Techno noted idly. Schlatt whined, very loudly. Techno guessed it was in hopes to get the cashier to change his mind.

“Are you getting anything?” Techno asked, mentally noting to himself to not shop at this specific store anymore.

“He won’t sell me a pack, so I guess not,” Schlatt pouted. Annoyance crossed Techno’s mind, wishing that Schlatt would just suck it up and pick something. He didn’t voice his opinion, though, not wanting to upset either of the other boys and make a scene.

“So just the tea and the oreos?” The cashier cut in. Techno silently thanked him.

“I guess,” Techno said, grabbing his wallet from his pocket to pay.

Schlatt tried to slip a pack of gum discreetly to the cashier, but earned a sharp elbow in the side by Techno.

“‘ere you go,” Techno handed the bottle to Wil who turned and started heading out the door, Schlatt behind him.

“Hey, don’t forget these, mate,” the cashier called out after the two. Techno turned to grab the pack of gum from the man’s hand.

Techno almost forgot the feeling, despite it happening only a few weeks prior. The burning heat on his wrist and then the immediate cool that happened after. He was used to this feeling, having just gone through it, and being athletic definitely helped. The cashier--or, his new soulmate-- wasn’t used to it, as evidenced by his loud yelp that caught both Schlatt and Wil’s attention. They were both practically out the door already.

“Fuck!” He hissed through gritted teeth, holding his wrist. Techno just rubbed his wrist, frowning slightly at how unexpected the pain was. It really just felt sore now, but it was obvious that the other man wasn’t used to this.

“Uh- here, lemme see it,” Techno stated, awkwardly shifting on his feet as he held out his hand for the other. The other gave him his hand, although slightly reluctantly.

“My name’s Techno,” he started, as he always does, grabbing the other’s wrist. He noted that out of the three white circles on his wrist, only one was filled in, which was expected. “This usually helps my brother calm down,” Techno said calmly, rubbing his thumb across the circles. He could tell by just the way the other man relaxed that it was helping.

“What’s wrong?” Wil questioned, walking up behind his brother. He went still once he saw the obvious markings that Techno was soothing at the moment. Techno couldn’t help but notice Schlatt slip out of the store.

“What’s your name?” Techno asked after a moment of silence.

  
  
“Phil,” he murmured, looking at Techno’s wrist. “So…”

“My name’s Wilbur, by the way,” Techno’s twin grinned, holding out his hand to shake the other.

“It’s going to hurt, do you want to wait a second?” Techno asked.

“No, no, I’m fine, just-- caught me off guard,” Phil beamed, pulling his arm from Techno’s. Wilbur and Phil met hands, Wil basically buzzing with excitement while Phil stood still with shock.

“So, you guys met the last one? Really?” Phil asked, slightly taken aback. Techno himself was still a little shaken up about finding his last soulmate in a gas station.

“It’s technically two other soulmates!” Wil explained happily, rolling his index fingers in a circle as he leaned against the counter. “It’s this kid and his best friend! They’re not annoying or anything, but it’s really fun to mess with them,” he added with a snicker.

“Wait, he’s not actually a kid, right?” Phil asked with surprise. “You guys already seem so young.”

“Nah, we’re like, seventeen,” Techno explained, fighting the urge to grin at the man behind the counter. “And the other ones are-- around fifteen, I think? Still finishing high school.”

“Huh,” Phil said, spacing out slightly as he rubbed his wrist.

“You know, this is such a coincidence,” Techno started. “When I met our other soulmate, he was late to class, and now we’re late this time. I really hate to do this again, but we do have to go.”

“Oh, yeah, no, of course.”

Techno and Phil exchanged phone numbers, Wilbur complaining next to him. Something about ‘skipping class’ or something.Techno was pretty adamant about him not missing class, though.

“I’m off around five tonight, if you guys are free,” Phil added as the two made their way back to the car.

“Don’t worry, imma force Techno to take me out later tonight! Bye, Phil!” Wilbur yelled as Techno dragged him out the store, the tea bottle forgotten at the register.

  
  
  
  


“Hey, you alright?” Wil asked as he walked through the hallways on the way to his and Schlatt’s class.

“Nothing,” Schlatt huffed, chewing his gum rather obnoxiously.

“Come on, I can tell it’s not nothing,” Wil pleaded. “You can tell me anything, bestie,” he added with a laugh.

Schlatt just hummed in acknowledgement, which really just solidified Wilbur’s persistence.

“Something’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Schlatt.”

“Wilbur.”

Wil sighed and looked up at the ceiling, adjusting his backpack idly. “Listen, asshole, what the fuck is wrong?” he asked, stopping the other to look him in the eye.

“Maybe if you weren’t too busy jerking off your newest soulmate or kissing up to a bunch of  _ children, _ you would fucking notice,” Schlatt snapped, catching Wilbur off guard.

“First off,  _ gross _ . Second off, they’re my soulmates, Schlatt, of course I’m--”

“See! You’re doing it again! You’re putting them above me! I’ve known you for so much longer, and you’re still doing this shit.” Schlatt growled, holding his forehead in his head.

“Do you need me to draw a circle on my wrist for you,” Wilbur tried to lighten the mood, smiling apprehensively.

“No, Wilbur! Soulmates are nothing they’re just a fucking mark on your fucking wrist!”

“Schlatt, you can’t--”

“No, no, no. Listen, I’m tired of all this stupid fucking soulmate fucking bullshit,” Schlatt yelled, catching some of their classmates attention. Wilbur fiddled with his backpack straps nervously. 

“Schlatt, seriously dude, you’re one of my best friends--”

“It doesn’t feel like it.”

“I’ve invited you,” Wil tried, basically pleading. “I’ve never  _ not _ involved you. I don’t want to leave you behind--”

“You know how I feel about soulmates.”   
  
“But you hang out with me and Techno almost everyday!”

“That’s different and you know it!”

“So are me and Techno not real soulmates or something?” Wilbur suddenly got defensive, furrowing his eyebrows at Schlatt’s sudden behavior.

“N-no, that’s not--”

“What makes Techno so different than Tommy or Tubbo, huh?” Wil questioned. He slowly backed away from Schlatt, shaking his head at the other’s stubbornness. 

“No, Techno’s just easier to get along with--”   
  
“You haven’t even tried! You’ve talked to Tommy  _ once _ ! One fucking time, Schlatt!”

“I’ve tried--”

“No you have not!” Wilbur yelled, frustration clawing at his throat.

Schlatt seemed at loss for words, his mouth just stuck open. Wilbur would’ve thought it to be comical.

“We used to hang out everyday after school,” Schlatt started.

“And we would still be doing that if you just accepted my invites!”

“You know how I--”

“Yeah, yeah, soulmates bad, me good, blah blah, just get over it!” Wilbur shouted, forcing his hands down to resist the urge to pull at his hair.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah!”

“Fuck you,” Schlatt spit out then abruptly turned on his heel and sped off.

Wilbur sniffled as he fled to the nearest bathroom. He rinsed his face off, heat from his anger still turning his face red. He cursed how fair his skin was, because the redness is highly visible against his cheekbones. He quickly rubbed his eyes and blinked furiously to straighten his vision. For a few minutes he stood like that, hunched over a public bathroom sink staring at his reflection as he listened to the final bell ring and his classmates shuffling to prevent being late. A force pushed at his throat, quickly building up to the point where Wilbur had to hold his breath to prevent tears from slipping down his cheek. He slowly pulled out his phone, dialing his brother’s number shakily.

“Hey, Techno.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact i had a falling out with my irl bestie which is why this chapter was so hard to write.
> 
> mercury retrograde yall
> 
> [anyways follow my twitter (if u want)](https://twitter.com/plutosaysh1)


	5. fall 04

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today? wilbur angst. tomorrow? hopefully sbi fluff.
> 
> [NETHER, MY BELOVED, MY BETA, I LUV U](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gargalesthesiaaa)
> 
> tw for non graphic self harm and intrusive thoughts

“I’m going to fucking kill him.”

Wil sniffled, too tired to fight with his fuming brother. Techno paced on the twins’ shared bedroom floor, his hands furiously tapping each other in search of something to hit. Wilbur laid underneath two blankets, his eyes puffy and swollen.

“No, seriously,” Techno huffed, “the next time I see that boy I’m going to take my fist and put it--”

“Techno,” Wil quietly cut off his brother. His voice was barely above a whisper but it still caught his brother’s attention.

“‘m sorry,” Techno hushed his voice and quickly shuffled over, kneeling down to meet his twin’s wet eyes. “D’you want me to make us lunch?”

Wilbur nodded his head as he sniffled loudly again, bringing the back of his hand to wipe at his nose. Any other time he would have been disgusted, but right now, he really couldn’t care less.

“Anything specific?” Wilbur made a small noise indicating that he meant no. “Okay. I’ll be right back, then,” Techno said as he gently tucked one of Wil’s stray hairs behind his ear. He got up and left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar behind him.

Wilbur felt like shit. He probably looked like shit, as well. It was pretty hard to hide, and it felt like every single one of his classmates were watching him when he stormed out of the school bathroom, barely holding back the stream of tears pricking the back of his eyes with every step.

Wilbur’s hands subconsciously found their way to his mouth as he started to bite his fingernails. It was a nervous habit he’d had for the longest time. He only ever did it now whenever he was extremely stressed or extremely bored (it was safe to assume where he was right now).

  
  
  


_ “Hullo-- ...Wilbur? Aren’t you supposed to be in class right now?” _

_ “Um, I--” Wil hiccuped as he rubbed his eyes, sucking in deep, frequent breaths to stop the tears from falling. He could hear Techno shuffle, assumedly sit up, at his distressed tone. _

_ “Are you alright? I’m heading back right now. I’m only like-- five minutes away,” Techno paused, waiting for input from the other, but Wilbur couldn’t bring himself to say anything else. “Are-- are you okay? Please tell me you're safe.” _

_ “I-I’m-- no, I’m safe, don’t worry,” Wilbur finally stuttered out, his breath still coming in and out at a fast rate. _

_ “Listen, Wil, you need to slow down your breathing. I know you can do it. I’m almost there, I promise. I don’t need you passing out on me,” Techno reassured. Wilbur nodded his head, not really caring nor realizing that Techno wouldn’t see. He took an unstable deep breath in, realizing that he was dangerously light-headed. _

_ “Okay… okay,” Wilbur said after a few moments, finally taking control of his breathing. _

_ “I’m pulling up where I dropped you off,” Wil heard Techno’s voice drift through his speakers. Wilbur didn’t remember much of what happened next or how he even got across campus with his face red and eyes leaking. _

  
  
  


“Here,” Techno brought Wil out of his thoughts, two bowls rested in his hands and a box of tissues squished underneath his armpit. He handed off one of the bowls to Wil, who graciously accepted it, and placed the tissue box between the two as he sat down next to him on his bed. Wil realized enthusiastically that it was just a salad, and he quietly thanked his twin for thinking ahead.

Wil sat up, rubbing his nose roughly. Him and Techno ate in silence, both sitting criss-crossed, across from each other.

“I feel like shit,” Wil stated, feeling the need to fill the still that had enveloped the dark room.

“I didn’t want to say it first, but,” Techno added with a small smile on his face, his voice monotone.

Wilbur snickered and elbowed the other, both erupting into a small fit of giggles. The tension in the air immediately lightened at the easy banter.

“Thanks for picking me up,” Wilbur said, his voice solemn.

“Of course. It’s what big brothers are for.”

  
  
“You’re older by two seconds, Techno.”   


  
“And?” Another fit of giggles followed.

“No, but seriously,” Wil said as he scooped another bite, glancing over to Techno.  _ I don’t deserve you _ , he added in his mind, but he dared not say it out loud.

“Wilbur, you’re my best friend. My brother. I would do anything for you, okay?” Wil smiled behind his fork.

“Thank you,” Wilbur said, his voice genuine. “Really.”

“No problem,” Techno mumbled, taking another bite of his food. “Just let me know if you want me to beat the shit out of Schlatt, alright?”   
  
Wilbur smirked and shook his head, exhaling.

“Imma take a shower,” Wil announced as he stood up to stretch, setting his nearly empty bowl down on the bedside table.

“Thanks for letting me know, idiot.”   
  
Wilbur scoffed and flipped off his brother, but no real malice was placed behind it.

The brunette made his way to the cramped bathroom. As he undressed, he made eye contact with himself in the mirror, and felt himself fade away as the day’s events came crashing back down. Tears pricked at his eyes, making it hard to see through his eyelashes. He quickly wiped at his eyes and started the shower, letting the steam take over the room.

He stepped in, hoping that the heat would distract him from bitter feelings.

It took only a few minutes before he found himself sitting on the shower floor, head wrapped in his arms. His shoulders shook with his muffled sobs, hair drooping in front of his face.

_ The car was quiet, the only sound being the gentle notes of a muffled pop song coming from the radio and the occasional sniff from Wil. The boy had his eyes glued to the passing scenery, not wanting to make eye contact with his pink-haired twin, who was shooting many glances at him to see if he was okay. Wilbur felt like melting under his gaze, hating the pressure it applied. _

_ “What-- what happened, Wil?” Techno finally asked, making Wil flinch in his seat from the unexpected noise. He was incredibly sensitive at the moment, both emotionally and physically, and the sudden noise startled him more than he would like to admit. _

_ He opened his mouth to begin, but quickly shut it, not knowing how to start. “Um, well, I guess, uh--” _ _  
_

_ “Please, Wil,” Techno pleaded, grip on the wheel tightening for a moment. “You scared me half to death with your call. Please, just-- tell me what happened.” _ _  
_

_  
_ _ “Me and Schlatt had a-- um. A fight,” Wil whispered, looking down at his fiddling fingers. _

_ Techno hummed, “About?” _

_ Wilbur choked back another sob as another rush of emotion overtook him. “S-soulmates,” he sniffed. Techno scoffed. _

_ “Who woulda guessed,” Techno grumbled, his voice quieting as he turned into the apartment’s garage. _

_ Wilbur automatically opened his mouth to bite back, the natural urge to protect one of his closest friends from scrutiny kicking in, before it all came crashing back down. Technically, it was Schlatt who hurt him, so why should he have to defend the man? Still, a part of him twisted up inside. What did this mean? Was Schlatt not his friend anymore? _

_ “Er- if you don’t mind saying- what exactly... happened?” _

_ “Um, he got really pissy about Phil and Tommy and…” Wil contemplated saying ‘you’, but decided against it. “Um, then he said that I wasn’t paying enough-- attention to him,” Wil summarized. Techno went quiet as he backed into his parking spot. “I may have been too harsh to him, though…” _

_ “Nonsense,” Techno huffed as he put the car into park. He grabbed his belongings and hopped out the car, Wilbur following. “You were defending your soulmates. We both know how Schlatt can get about them.” _

_ “Yeah, I know, but I feel like I should have thought more before I spoke, y’know? Maybe if I did pay more attention to him--” _

_ “Wilbur, who stayed the night at our house for two days in a row last week?” _ _  
  
_

_ “... Schlatt.” _

_ “Who’s constantly using up my gas?” _

_  
_ _  
_ _ “Listen, Techno-” _ _  
_

_  
_ _ “Whose house are you at more than you’re actually in class?” _ _  
_

_  
_ _ “Schlatt’s…” _

_ “Exactly. You two are already close. It’s his fault. We’ve known about Tommy and Tubbo being our soulmate’s for nearly two weeks now and he’s only talked to them maybe once. Twice, if we’re generous. I don’t even know the exact number, because that man runs every time at the mention of the two,” Techno reasoned. The two made their way up the apartment’s staircase. “Don’t beat yourself up over this, he’s at fault, not you. If he really cared enough he would have taken the time to get to know them. And-- maybe you were too harsh then. So what? He didn’t make any efforts himself, did he?” _ _  
_

_  
_ _ “I guess,” was all Wil could say in response. He rubbed his elbow awkwardly as he trailed behind his twin. “H-hey, what about class?” Wil suddenly asked, immediately remembering that he was supposed to be sitting in a plastic chair at that moment. How could he forget? _

_ Techno sighed as he unlocked the front door. “Today’s an exception, alright? But you can’t be skipping class anymore. I’m not dumb, I know you don’t have class once a week,” he said, looking over his shoulder to make eye contact with his brother with a raised eyebrow. _

_ Wilbur felt a small smile peek through his dried cheeks. He sniffled and nodded, giving confirmation that he understood.  _

_ “I’m going to go lay down.” _

Water slipped through Wilbur’s hair, making it drag down to just below his nose, his eyes completely obscured. He was too busy biting his lip and fighting the urge to cry (again) to notice.

What did this mean for the two? He had known Schlatt for so long.

A gentle, not-so-nice memory flitted through his mind: of when Wilbur had fled to Schlatt’s house in his drugged state. He had said, then, that he intended to kill himself. Schlatt, and Techno, of course, had nursed him back from the edge and talked him away from that extreme. Wilbur had baggy-eyes and a gaunt frame, then, but those two helped him through thick and thin.

Life felt empty now. He wanted to text Schlatt, he wanted to scream at him and thank him and laugh with him again, just one more time. Maybe the boy was being too extreme, but Wilbur just wanted to see his face again without those heavy memories closing his throat. How had it been only a few hours since that stupid, stupid argument?

Wil gritted his teeth, anger coursing through him out of nowhere.

Schlatt was so selfish. How could he yell at Wil in the hallway in front of everyone over something so fucking stupid? And after everything the pair had been through? It felt like being hugged, then stabbed in the back. He wanted to scream and punch something. 

And so he did.

He pulled his hair to its roots, a few strands ending up fisted in his palms. He smacked his palm on the side of his head repeatedly, the trickling water becoming nothing but a distant blur as the only thing that ran through his head was  _ hurt, hurt, hurt, hurt more _ .

It was his fault. He was the reason why Schlatt left. Schlatt would be so much better off without him. Wilbur was a terrible friend. He deserved every ounce of pain that came to him. He deserved to be left alone, to have everyone run away. He knew that once his soulmates found out about the real him, the one sitting on the bathroom floor hitting himself uncontrollably, they’ll leave him (just like Schlatt).

“Wil?”

  
  
Everything came crashing down. Wilbur was back in the bathroom and his head started to throb from the repeated abuse. Snot and tears ran down the drain.

“Y-yeah?”   


  
“You’ve been in there for a while now, just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“Yeah I was just getting out,” Wilbur lied, pitching up his voice so that hopefully Techno would not suspect a thing. A gentle affirmation came from the other side of the door and Wilbur was able to hear his twin walk away from the door if he strained hard enough.

“Fuck,” he mumbled to himself as he picked himself up on unsteady legs.

He hadn’t had an episode like that in a while. A part of him was disappointed, another satisfied.

( _ Techno always knows when to help, even when he doesn’t mean to. What’s going to happen when he eventually leaves? You’ll be alone and you’ll deserve it _ ).

Wil quickly scrubbed his hair and took a quick wash, not bothering to shake away the negative thoughts that currently crowded his mind.

He stepped out and got dressed, only to realize that he had been in the shower for almost 45 minutes.

“I was starting to wonder if you drowned in there,” Techno yelled from across the apartment as he emerged from their moms room.

“Watcha doing in there?” Wil questioned, leaning against the counter in the kitchen to hide his wobbly legs. He inhaled, then exhaled slowly, trying to push away the remaining throbbing on his crown.

“Got some movies to watch since I’m pretty sure we’re staying in for the rest of the night,” Techno explained. “Also, I’m pretty sure we’re rescheduling with Phil?”

“Aw, come on,” Wilbur pleaded.

“Okay, let me rephrase that: I’m rescheduling with Phil.” Techno specified with an air of finality that made Wilbur roll his eyes. He pouted.

“Dude, you were just having a panic attack, like, two hours ago,” Techno sighed as he pulled out his phone. Wil assumed it was to text Phil.

“Yeah, fuck, I guess you’re right,” Wil said, accepting defeat.

“Hey, what about Tommy and Tubbo then?” Wil asked looking back over to his brother.

“What about them?” Techno questioned, not looking up from his phone.

“Don’t they, y’know, rely on you to take ‘em home?”

Techno shrugged. “They’re kids, they can walk home or something.” Wil rolled his eyes.

“Okay, sure, if they get kidnapped I’m blaming you.”

“Oh, god forbid, two fifteen year olds have to walk home, whatever will they do?” Techno joked, finally putting down his phone. Wilbur snorted, covering his mouth with his hand to stop himself from doing it again as his shoulders shook with laughter.

“But, Wil, you’re okay right? I wasn’t kidding with what I said earlier at the store. I am here for you whenever you need me,” Techno said, his tone changing seriously. Wilbur hated when he got like this. 

He put up a smile. “Of course, that shower really calmed me down.”

“Are you sure? ‘Cus I know Schlatt was your friend for--”

“No! No, Techno I'm fine. seriously,” Wilbur grinned, hoping he would drop the subject. Techno nodded, not fully convinced, and picked up his phone again.

“Okay, so, you wanna start off with Netflix, Hulu, or mom’s early 2000s movie collection?”

The afternoon bled into night quickly, the twins hopping from show to show to keep their attention. Wilbur also spent a good chunk of time singing old 90s ballads off-key to annoy Techno, who in turn spent a good thirty minutes explaining precalculus to Wil as a sort of punishment (obviously it worked). They did have to quiet down when their mom came home, but she dozed off almost immediately as soon as she came home. They waited about an hour to make sure before they returned to the living room.

It was ticking towards midnight when Wil started to nod off. He fell asleep with his head rested on Techno’s shoulder, who tried his very best not to move an inch. It wasn’t often that the twins had an affectionate moment between just the two, as Schlatt was almost always with them. Plus, Techno rarely saw Wilbur’s more sensitive side other than extreme cases. Of course, Techno was not happy with the circumstances as to why they were together that night, but he tried his best to make sure that he made Wilbur as happy as possible. He knew he would never  _ ‘replace’ _ Schlatt, but he sure hoped he could make his void just a little less noticeable.

Techno crashed about ten minutes later, the coming-of-age 2000s movie forgotten.

**tommy created a group chat with tubz, techno, and wilb**

**tommy at 1:56am**

what’s up fuckers>:]

**tubbo at 1:56am**

it’s 2am tommy

**tommy at 1:57am**

and?

wake uppppppp

WAKE UPPPP

WAKE

UP

DICKHEADS

**techno at 2:01am**

Hullo

**tommy at 2:03am**

gm sleepyheads

**wilb at 2:03am**

stfu

child

i got a surprise 4 u

**tommy at 2:04am**

it better be a woman 

(preferably more than one)

**wilbur added philza**

**philza at 2:05am**

what the fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [my twitter:]](https://twitter.com/plutosaysh1)


	6. fall 05

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long was tryna make sure this chapter was good  
> anywayz two whole betas today: [nether!!](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gargalesthesiaaa) and [alastair!!](https://archiveofourown.org/users/b1rds0ng)  
> both are my beloveds pls check out their works

Tubbo stood on their tip toes, trying their best to distinguish Techno’s hand-me-down car from the already messy crowd. It was futile, of course, with Tubbo being shorter than the average teen and the fact that there were already so many parents, older siblings, and guardians clogging up the streets.

Tommy locked his fingers around the others’ wrist, dragging them along through the crowd with his lanky legs.

Both Tommy and Tubbo practically had a certain strain of energy buzzing with each step that they took as they made their way across the drop off area. Their phones lit up and the two fumbled to read the message.

“They did this on purpose, didn’t they?” Tommy complained as he read the message from Wilbur. The taunting letters on the screen announced that the twins had decided to pick them up on the other side of campus (which Tommy knew was  _ completely _ inconvenient for them) because the usual pick up spot was ‘too crowded.’

“I’m going to kill them, don’t stop me,” Tubbo added.

The two broke off into a full blown sprint across campus, weaving around other students and dodging the school staff.

“I see the Techno-mobile!” Tubbo panted as they picked up their pace to reach the dingy machine.

The two came to a halt in front of Techno’s car, Tubbo barely holding themself up from collapsing and Tommy right next to them gasping for breath. A smiling Wil leaned out the window and gave a sarcastic wave.

“Hey, boys,” Wil greeted as he waved to the two, Techno leaning over so he could also wave (it was more sincere than Wil’s-- but still teasing enough).

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me!” Tommy groaned as he clawed at his eyes, hunched over.

“What’re so worked up about, Tommy,” Wilbur gasped dramatically. Tommy always joked about the teen being a drama student at heart, no matter the amount of protesting from the brunet.

“Y’know when you said we were gonna meet Phil I was hoping he was going to be in the actual car,” Tubbo rambled, sliding into the backseat. Tommy voiced his agreement.

Wilbur gace a look of faux-surprise. “Oh, me? Misleading you guys? Never!” Tommy just rolled his eyes at Wilbur’s theatrics.

“So…” Tubbo dragged out the ‘o,’ kicking their legs against the driver’s seat.

“We’re meeting him somewhere,” Techno explained, locking eyes with Tubbo in the rearview mirror scoldingly. The young teen smiled sheepishly and dropped their feet.

“Why are you guys so excited anyways?” Wilbur asked, finally dropping his persona. “You weren’t nearly as hyper when you met  _ me _ ?” He added dramatically. And it was back again, this time in less than five seconds.  _ Must be a new record, _ Techno mused.

“Yeah, I didn’t see you two running across a campus for either of us?” Techno said. “Can’t believe we’ve already been replaced, Wil.”

“First off,” Tommy said, interrupting the twins from fueling each other’s fires anymore. “We were. Dick. We’re just looking forward to meeting another one of my-- _ our _ soulmates. Second off, we got a bet.”

“A bet?” Techno questioned, turning the key to start the car’s ignition.

“Mhm!” Tubbo nodded. “Long story short we made a bet whether or not Phil’s this dude who streams Minecraft on Twitch or not.”

“And, I mean, his name is literally ‘Philza’ in the chat, so,” Tommy added.

“So, who’s betting what?” Wilbur asked.

“Oh, we both believe it’s  _ the _ Phil,” Tubbo explained. They shook their head as if it was the most obvious answer.

“Then what are y’all even betting on?” Techno scoffed.

Tommy glared at the older pink-haired boy via the rearview mirror. “Who’s going to ask him first!”

“So you guys are basically going to rush him?” Wil laughed.

“Exactly,” both teens said in unison, turning to each other to jinx the other.

“I guess it’s a better first impression than ‘me want women, me caveman,’” Wil snickered.

A sharp jab landed on Wil’s side, causing him to shriek, only for him to receive a strict scolding from the driver in the car.

Tommy was messing with the music queue when the car finally made its way into a cramped parking lot. It was a narrow passage that weaved behind a large thrift store. Techno then parked in front of an even larger warehouse.

“Hey, buddy, I love you, but it feels like our bodies are about to get stabbed then dumped right now,” Tommy said as he leaned into Wil’s headrest.

“What kinda surprise takes place in a warehouse?” Tubbo added on, leaning on the middle compartment to glance over at Techno.

“A double homicide,” Techno stated simply. He grabbed his keys and jacket and exited the car, Wilbur following.

“Look on the bright side! If we die today at least we’ll be on the news!” Tubbo said cheerfully.

“At least we won’t have to do the English essay, you mean.”

Tubbo snorted. “Yeah, that too.”

The two exited the car, picking up their pace slightly to catch up with the twins.

Tommy tended to tease the others (it wasn’t his fault it was so easy to get on their nerves), but he still completely and utterly trusted them, even if he had only known them for a few short weeks. Maybe it was the soulmate thing, or just the way they always seemed to listen and  _ want _ to spend time with him and Tubbo, but, he just felt so safe around them.

Tommy’s pocket buzzed, signaling that someone was calling him. A quick check on the caller ID made his heart plummet.

“I’ll meet you guys inside, give me a second,” he shouted to the other three. Tubbo waved briefly before sprinting inside, Wil and Techno following much slower.

“Hey, mum,” he answered the phone, leaning against the outside of the building, fiddling with the strings of his jacket nervously.

“Toms! I’ve been texting you. Why haven't you been answering?” Tommy felt his anxiety leap.

“Oh, no, sorry-- I was talking to my history teacher after class,” Tommy quickly lied. “He’s giving me an extension on that report I told you about the other night.”

“That’s great! I was actually just about to ask about that. Hey, on your way home can you grab some toilet paper, we’re almost out,” his mum’s voice chattered.

“Of course, uh, before I forget, do you think me and Tubbo could go to the park for a few hours?”

“‘Course! Just be home before sunset, okay?”

“Mhm!”

“‘Kay, have fun, Toms!”

Then Tommy heard the click that meant she had hung up. He laid his head back as a sigh of relief escaped from his lips. Don’t get him wrong, his mum was one of his favorite people in the whole world, besides his soulmates, but she always had a certain edge of paranoia and overprotectiveness, to say the least.

Although the past two weeks had been some of the best for the teen-- he’s about to meet his final soulmate in a few seconds, and that wasn’t something most kids his age could say. Especially since he had more than one soulmate. But it also brought up a whole new problem: his mum.

Every night, Tommy found himself heading home with his wrists covered or wearing long sleeves, always rushing to his room to slip on an oversized sweater or a couple bracelets. Having his soulmarks on his wrist meant he got to show off during the day but the moment he got home he bolted to keep them hidden.

He had no idea how his mum would react with all of his soulmates being older than him. Of course, they knew that since the day he was born with all three perfect soulmarks, but it was still terrifying.

He placed his phone in his back pocket again, trying his best to shake off his still present jitters and ignoring the guilt that sunk heavily in his stomach. He hated lying to his mum but he also couldn’t wait to meet his final soulmate.

He entered the building, a large gust of cold air taking him by surprise. He crossed his arms, shivering.

“Tommy! Guess who won the bet!”

The blonde snapped his head to where he heard the voice, a playful frown settling on his face. A couple feet away from him stood Techno, who leaned against a counter, in conversation with an employee. Wil stood directly next to Techno as he leaned against the wall, and Tubbo with his arm clasped around another’s: a blonde man that Tommy immediately recognized. Of course, he would completely forget about the bet just because his mum called him.

“No, goddammit!” Tommy shouted, running over to the four, ignoring the other patrons. “Did they ask you yet?”

Phil looked pretty dazed. Tommy guessed it was because his two newest soulmates looked like they were about to drag him around at any second now. “If you’re asking about the streaming thing, er, yeah. He--”

“They,” Tommy corrected immediately.

“Sorry. They already asked me?” Phil concluded.

“You’ve got to be shittin’ me,” Tommy groaned, Wil laughing next to him.

“You were too busy calling one of your many girlfriends!” Wilbur teased. Tubbo snorted from their position where they were still clinging to Phil’s sweater sleeve.

“Actually, it was my  _ mum _ , and she made me forget about the bet,” Tommy puffed, raising his chin in an attempt to defend himself.

“Yeah, yeah. Loser,” Tubbo stuck out his tongue at the blonde, his right hand coming up to his forehead in the shape of an ‘L’

“Tommy, what’s your shoe size?” Techno interrupted, looking over his shoulder.

“Why would I know that, big man,” Tommy snorted.

“You’re kidding,” Techno sighed as he rubbed his forehead.

“Why’ya need it anyways?”

“Tommy. Look around. We’re at an ice rink.”

A quick glance around Tommy told him that they were, in fact, in an ice rink. His face heated, despite how chilly it was in the building.

In the end, Techno ended up guessing Tommy’s shoe size perfectly. The rented skates smelled and were large and clunky. They made Tommy wobble on his feet precariously, his ankles constantly slipping outwards. The blonde continuously had to keep balancing himself with a wall and he was not excited to see how well he fared on the ice. He was happy to see, however, that Tubbo was just as stumbly as he was.

Techno and Phil, on the other hand, were already caught up in a steady conversation with the occasional laugh or snicker. They stood confidently and steadily on their skates as they waited for the younger two to put on their skates. Wilbur was beside them trying his best, but he had an occasional slip up.

“I think these are too small,” Tubbo mumbled, fighting against the worn out laces.

“You’ve changed your skates three times now, Tubbo, I think they fit,” Tommy said matter-of-factly, ignoring Tubbo’s middle finger. The older turned back to fussing with the laces.

“Oi, are you two done yet?” Wilbur asked, his knees leaning inwards slightly.

“Give us a second, dickhead,” Tommy cursed.

“Do you need help?” Phil asked, finally noticing that Tubbo had been fighting to untangle his laces for a few seconds now.

“Um, I think I got it--” Tubbo started but Phil had already squatted down in front of the shorter teen. He untangled the laces in about ten seconds. Tubbo just blinked and gave a simple ‘huh.’

“Mate, are you even old enough to curse?” Phil joked as he finished tying Tubbo’s laces.

“So you think you’re funny now?” Tommy scoffed.

“I mean, yeah, you’re like, what? Twelve years old?” Phil justified with a small smile. Tommy felt his cheeks color.

“He’s also a child,” Wil added.

“Yep, a child,” Techno confirmed.

“I’m taller than all three of you!--”

( _ “You wish!” _ Wilbur grinned).

“ _ And _ this is absolutely illegal in some way. Three grown men are attacking me right now!”

“Technically, me and Techno aren’t eighteen yet,” Wilbur interjected.

Tommy waved him off, “round up.”

“Okay, but what are you gonna do about it? You can barely stand on those skates,” Phil pestered, a grin on his face.

“Imma stab your ass, old man!” Tommy barked back, attempting to stand up, only to immediately fall backwards to gain balance. He groaned. How the fuck was he supposed to skate on ice when he couldn’t even stand on the rubber flooring?

“Sure ya will,” Techno laughed.

“We’ll meet you two inside, our times starting,” Phil called over his shoulder as he and Techno made their way to the rink in the adjacent room. Wilbur looked completely surprised and he stumbled after the two, whining as he went.

Tommy exhaled as soon as they were gone.

“You ready to go?” Tommy asked, rolling his head over to look at the brunet.

“Yep!”

“Good that took like ten minutes, let’s go catch their asses.”

The two teens took about another five minutes to even make it to the door, both seemed more uncoordinated than the other.

The room containing the rink was freezing, even more so than the lobby. It was also pretty dark, with colored lights flashing and changing every so often. A top 40s playlist mixed with sappy 90s romance songs along with the type of songs you would hear in a peppy 80s movie were all mashed together on a repeating playlist. Although the time had just started, people were already starting to crowd the ice. Couples, friends, parents and their children alike gathered on the cold surface, either gliding elegantly or stumbling and falling on their ass. 

It was obvious that Tubbo and Tommy were the latter.

“No, you need to put your foot there--  _ Tommy! _ That’s my foot, get  _ off!” _

“Well how the fuck was I supposed to know?”

“I don’t know, maybe--  _ oof _ !”

Tubbo laid flat on the ice floor, Tommy’s wobbling knees trying their best to stop shaking. It wasn’t very effective as he slowly drifted farther from Tubbo, unable to stop.

“Tubbo, wake your ass up!” He cackled, raising his voice so that the other could hear him from their distance.

“Don’t laugh, you asshole! This is cold as hell!” Tubbo protested as they attempted to pick themself up. (They only ended up slipping on the ice again.)

“What’s up, nerds,” Techno saluted as he skated gracefully past the blonde, who was holding his arms out to gain at least some semblance of balance.

“Nice to see ya again,” Phil teased as he came up quickly behind the pink-haired boy. They were gone as soon as they appeared.

“That’s, like, their tenth time lapping us,” Tubbo huffed, floundering as they finally caught up with Tommy.

“We’ll trip ‘em or something the next time they pass us,” Tommy declared, looking over at Tubbo. “You got something in your hair,” he said, pointing towards the little chunks of ice that had stuck to his friends forehead and wisps of hair. Tubbo quickly wiped it away, fixing their messy hair.

“If we trip ‘em, how are  _ we _ gonna run away?” Tubbo questioned, a thoughtful look passing their face.

“We can scream ‘stranger danger’ or something,” Tommy hummed. Tubbo just glanced at the taller and rolled their eyes. “Got any better plans, smartass?”

“Yeah, actually. Try to figure out how to skate,” Tubbo stated.

“Haven’t you heard? If at first you don’t succeed, then give up! Or find someone else to do that certain thing for you. Which doesn’t exactly work for skating. So we need a backup plan,” the blonde smiled.

“I don’t think--”

A small child made their way too close to Tommy, knocking him completely off balance. He fell on the ice flooring and swore loudly, smacking his hands against his forehead.

“Fuck,” Tommy mumbled as he tried to pull himself up. It had been a good two minutes since his last fall and it had somehow gotten colder than before.

“Y’know you’re supposed to be standing right?” Wil butted in, skating up behind the pair with a sly grin. “You have to get up by going on all fours, putting one knee on the ice, then standing up,” he added with a sigh.

“I knew that,” Tommy snorted.

“Sure ya did,” Wilbur rolled his eyes, swinging his arms and taking off again.

“Okay, I’m up!” The blonde announced as he finally got up using Wil’s advice. He stuck out his arms like a toddler reaching for his favorite toy as he made his way to the railings. He displaced a few younger children who were also using it as leverage. Tubbo skated up next to him.

“Still wanna give up?” They questioned.

“Kinda,” the blonde shrugged.

“--Heyo--” Techno and Phil yelled as they once again lapped the two.

Tommy took Tubbo’s hand in his, a sudden determination to learn how to skate crossing over him.

About ten minutes later, they found themselves splayed out on the bleachers just outside the rink, complaining about their sore ankles and multiple unfortunate tumbles.

“This was a mistake,” Tommy grumbled.

“Well, Phil  _ is _ your soulmate,” Tubbo sighed.

“ _ Our. _ ” Tommy corrected. “And I mean, look at him out there, showing off. Once they’re off the ice we can gang up on them.”

“Oi, we’re taking photos, come back in!” Wilbur shouted from the entrance of the rink.

“‘S cold!” Tubbo protested.   
  
“And it hurts.”   
  
“And there’s so many people.”

Tommy wrinkled his nose. “And too many kids.”

“Did I mention it’s cold?”

“Yes, Tubbo,” Tommy rolled over from where he was laying.

“Done complaining?” Wilbur questioned from the same spot he was in.

“Yeah, actually, I feel so much better now!” Tommy said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Give us a minute,” Tubbo shouted over the other, picking themself up. They forced Tommy to do the same, although not without a lot of complaining.

The two sluggishly made their way back onto the ice, immediately finding themselves using the railings for support once again.

“Tubbo, give me your hand,” Techno said as he pulled up to the two, Wilbur and Phil standing beside him. Tubbo reached out and was quickly dragged away by Techno’s steady hand, but at least they weren't falling.

“Tommy?” Phil said, extending his hand in a gesture to show that he was going to help the blonde as well. Tommy reached out, connecting his hand with the older’s wrist.

Immediately the same painful sensation sunk deep into Tommy’s wrist, making him wince and pull back, putting his whole back onto the railings. Phil, however, was completely caught off guard and ended up falling backwards onto the ice. It was the first time Tommy had seen the man fall all day. If he hadn’t been in those few seconds of agony, he probably would have laughed.

Wilbur attempted but failed to hold back a giggle that turned into a not-so-subtle cough.

The five of them took some pictures on the ice rink, most of them having caught one of them mid-fall or a random stranger in the background making themselves known. The group was still pretty ecstatic about how they turned out, the twins more-so (Tommy would be lying if he said he wasn’t also extremely eager to get his hands on those photos as well).

The group ended up leaving early ‘for the sake of sparing the other customers from having to deal with Tommy and Tubbo.’ Tommy secretly hoped it was because they had a soft spot for the younger two and didn’t want to see them hurt anymore, but knowing the group they probably would have been fine with watching the younger two struggle for another hour. (And if Tommy and Tubbo were caught throwing ice at the other customers, neither were one to tattle).

“Okay, I think it’s safe to assume that skating is not for everyone,” Techno declared as he got into the car.

“Don’t worry, you two, you’ll find something,” Wil added to the teasing. Tommy was ready to jump out of the car to avoid the twins’ antics.

Phil, having had carpooled to the rink, ended up squeezed in the backseat with the two young teens.

(Poor Tubbo was practically compressed in the middle seat. Even poorer was Phil who had to deal with the constant pestering from both Tommy and Tubbo about his streaming hobby).

(Of course he answered all of their questions, but he made sure to make a scene with each one).

The five of them ended up having a late lunch at an Italian restaurant not too far from the rink.

“I think we should outlaw Hawaiian pizza,” Tommy announced after the waiter had left with their drink orders.

“Sweetie, it’s just pineapple and ham on pizza,” Wil argued as he glanced through the menu, not even sparing Tommy a glance.

Tommy made a gagging noise. “Exactly, pineapple. That’s disgusting, utterly  _ vile. _ ”

“So what’s the best pizza flavor then, big man?” Wilbur asked.

“Easy, cheese.”

  
  
“Huh, that’s surprising,” Phil commented.

“The fuck does that mean?” Tommy raised his eyebrow, turning to face Phil.

Phil waved his hand around as he placed his menu down. “You seem like the type of guy to order something more…  _ exotic. _ ”

“It’s because of my  _ loud _ and  _ boisterous _ personality, innit?”

“Exactly,” Phil smiled.

“Big word,” Techno teased, dodging a smack on the head from Tommy.

The table argued about the best pizza flavor for another five minutes, before deciding to share an extra large Hawaiian pizza among the five of them, much to Tommy’s disappointment. The waiter had come back with their drinks and wrote down their order in a hurry.

Phil took a quick sip of his iced tea once they fell into silence. “Do you guys think you can fall in love with someone even if they’re not my soulmate?”

The rest of the table went silent, most of them confused by the sudden question. They hadn’t really thought about it before-- it was obvious that their group was platonic soulmates, but it was weird to think of any of them getting a  _ girlfriend _ , much less falling in love.

Luckily, Tubbo piped up before the silence settled for too long. “I mean, why not? We’re in modern day, of course people will be married to others who aren’t their soulmates. We’re platonic, right? So I’m sure you can find someone else with a platonic and, or, no soulmate and you guys could fall in love with each other. It would be the same whether or not they’re your soulmate, anyways.” They then shrugged, leaning forward to take a sip of their water.

“Huh. Didn’t know they had a philosophical mode,” Wil murmured, the rest of the table nodding their agreement.

“Dude, you’re like, the second youngest? That was so wise, what the hell,” Techno said, awe slowly dripping away. Tubbo just shrugged again.

“Why’d you ask?” Tubbo finally asked.

“Well,” Tommy was happy to note that he didn’t miss the way Phil’s face brightened a little.

“Ooh, he’s blushing!” The blonde exclaimed once he noticed, his mouth opening wide. “So who’s the girl? Or boy? Or-- other?”

“Her name’s, er... Kristen,” Phil smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. “We’ve been talking online for a couple years now, only just recently got serious. She lives in America, though.”

Tommy hummed and nodded his head, grinning wide. “Good thing you have us now you can break up with her now! You’re welcome!”

Tubbo slapped the boy’s shoulder, the blonde yelping. Phil just sat back in his chair and laughed.

“If-- um, if I’m being honest, I think she might be the one. Yeah, it sounds kinda fast, but--” Phil beamed, lost in thought.

“Y’know, if I wanted a wife, I would just get my lawn mower. Simple as that,” Tommy huffed, crossing his arms. Across the table, Wilbur fell into a fit of laughter while Techno snorted. Tubbo and Phil just looked confused.

“Phil-- Philza Minecraft-- if I had a wife I would simply pull out my lawn mower--” Wilbur laughed loudly, barely able to wheeze out the sentence, clapping his hands.

Another round of playful banter passed around the group, this time it was mostly Tommy and Wilbur clowning Phil for crushing on a ‘woman, of all people, what happened to you Phil, what the fuck--’. 

“Speaking of girlfriends, Wil, how’s that friend of yours. Schlapp or whatever the fuck his name is,” Tommy suddenly brought up after the conversation had slowed. Wilbur, who was mid sip, started choking on his beverage and had to turn and cough into his hand.

Once he finally got hold of himself he turned back to the table. “We, um, me and Schlatt aren’t exactly… friends anymore. I think?” Wilbur explained quietly, avoiding eye contact with the table.

“Wait, what happened?” Tubbo blurted, only to realize that they may have been too straight forward. They then added, gulping, “only if you’re okay with it, of course.”

“I can kick someone’s ass if you want,” Tommy added enthusiastically.

“Um--”

“Both of you watch Twitch streamers and play Minecraft in your freetime, the hell are y’all gonna do,” Techno laughed, cutting off his brother and saving him from answering.

It took all of Tommy’s will, as well as Tubbo’s grip, to stop him from crossing the table at that very second and strangling the pink-haired boy.

After, Wilbur reluctantly began to explain what happened.

He had never felt more validated than when Tommy started rolling up his sleeves, Tubbo reached over the table to give him a hug, and Phil settled a comforting hand on his back. Techno smiled at Wilbur, who tried not to cry.

  
That afternoon, Tommy came home with the excuse of already haven eaten to race upstairs. He changed into something easier to hide his wrist. That night he went to bed with a satisfied smile on his face,  _ really _ sore ankles, a complete set of white circles on his wrist, and a recently re-highlighted bee underneath his crisp, new soulmark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in case anyone was wondering, phil and techno were absolutely racing  
> [follow my twitter:]](https://twitter.com/plutosaysh1)


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